The women's tennis team bounced back from a tough 4-3 loss at the hands of Quinnipiac University on Tuesday to finish its fall season of dual matches with a win over Sacred Heart University by the final score of 5-0. Typically the matches consist of seven points, but the final two singles matches were not completed due to darkness.
In spite of the unseasonably cold weather that caused both coach Glenn Marshall and assistant coach Kate Tellers to exchange their sweaters and hoodies for much thicker jackets and gloves, the players were not phased by the climate.
"They certainly didn't seem cold. The players aren't typically phased by the climate and are quite resilient, they were able to adjust quite well to the weather," Marshall said.
The Huskies' first point was won in exciting fashion as junior Emily Herb and freshman Lauren Wilmarth won 9-8 in a tiebreaker to give the Huskies an important momentum boost going into singles play. Freshman Abby McKeon and Junior Katie Moritz also won their doubles match 8-3. Marshall was pleased with the overall victory in doubles but still thinks the team has some improvements to make in that aspect of their game.
"It was very nice to get that first point today, but we certainly have doubles work to do," Marshall said. "We need to get the players to start thinking a little more strategically and focus on positioning and percentage play. I cannot stress enough how important that one point is, especially come spring time when we start to face some pretty tough stretches."
McKeon was the first to win her singles match and put the Huskies up 2-0 overall. In the sixth singles spot, she defeated Sacred Heart sophomore Delaney Downing in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Soon after, freshman Lauren Wilmarth gave the team a 3-0 lead with a victory in fourth singles 6-4, 6-0 against junior, Elizabeth Harrington. In the fifth singles spot, sophomore, Alexa Gregory, clinched the win for the Huskies by defeating sophomore, Kristina Chao 6-3, 6-2. Senior Captain Alison Campitello gave the team their fifth point by defeating senior Julianne Kasinow in third singles 6-1, 6-2.
"I loved the effort level and I could see the fight there, it's great that we were able to come off of a loss and put that behind us to come up with an important victory," Marshall said.
The win caps off the Huskies' dual schedule for the fall season and puts them at an overall 2-2 record heading into the spring schedule when they can expect a much tougher schedule. Their final scheduled matches start October 22 in New Haven when they play in the regional championships. Until then, it's back to the practice courts for them to improve their doubles play. Coach Marshall hopes to get the team to play in a few more tournaments in the regional setting to get the team to play more matches and become more prepared.
Be the first to comment on this article!