By Chrissy Segrest
Elm Staff Writer
While most students are taking it easy right before spring break, the men’s and women’s tennis teams kicked it into high gear, with the men playing Division I College of Charleston while the women played Division I Delaware State. The following day, both teams played Goucher College at home. The women came out of the week with a 1-1 record, while the men’s team lost both games.
On Friday, March 2, the women took on Delaware State, losing 6-3. The match started off with seniors Julie Lazer and Rachel Martinez winning their first doubles set at 8-0. Following them, freshmen Riley Katzeem and Ella Stamer couldn’t rebound from a 4-0 lead, and lost their match 8-4.
To bring the lead back, freshman Sarah Bruno and senior Krista Filiopoulos won their match 8-5.
To start the singles off, Lazer won her sets 6-2 and 6-1 to bring the Shorewomen’s lead to 3-1. From there, no one else won any singles. The final match score was 6-3.
“All of the girls on the team want to see each other succeed because we all know each other’s capabilities and how hard we’ve worked to get to that point,” Bruno said. “The upperclassmen on the team have been especially supportive throughout the entirety of preseason, which has made the team feel more like a family when we are all together.”
The same day, the men’s team took on College of Charleston and lost 6-1. The only point came from freshman Kyle Hickey’s 6-2 and 6-1 win in singles.
The men took on Goucher College on Saturday, March 3. The match started off with the Hornets defeating seniors Justin Panep to and Luke Weaver, then followed up by beating Hickey and junior Chris Salisbury. The first Washington College point of the game came during the third doubles match, a 9-7 win from freshman Koby Bonta and Andrew Smith. Goucher went on to win the first three singles matches. Bonta was able to rally a 7-6, 5-7, 11-9 win before The Gophers came back to win the fifth set. Sophomore August Meriot won the last point of the match with a 3-6, 6-4, 10-4 win. The final score was 6-3 Goucher.
“I think what it came down to our slow start in doubles,” said Weaver. “We managed to bring our energy levels up after doubles and did a pretty good job [from that point]. A better start may have spurred a more energetic start in singles as well, which is why doubles is such a crucial part for our matches.”
The women’s team took on Goucher and managed to pull out a 9-0 win, for their first victory of the season. For doubles, Lazer and Martinez won their match 8-0, freshmen Riley Katzman and Ella Samer won theirs 8-2, and, finally, Bruno and Filiopoulos won theirs 8-3. In singles, Filiopoulos had a blow out, winning 6-0 twice, as did Martinez. Samer won 6-1 and 6-0 while Lazer mowed down her opponent going 6-3 and 6-1. Bruno smashed her opponent going 6-1 and 6-0 while senior Kiran Pant won her sets 6-2 and 6-0.
The Shorewomen and Shoremen’s next competition is in South Carolina, where they will both play Macalester and Concordia with the women’s team adding Stockton to the lineup, all over Spring Break.
Their next home match is on Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m. against conference opponent Muhlenberg College. If there is inclement weather, the match will be held in the Johnson Fitness Center fieldhouse.