By Alexandra Hansen
This past weekend, the women’s tennis team competed in the Midwest Invitational on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. Despite defeating Augustana College 5-4, the tournament didn’t favor the Ladies, who fell to Gustavus Adolphus College 7-2 and Kalamazoo College 6-3, dropping their overall season record to 6-7.
Although it was a difficult match against Gustavus Adolphus College, Diana Aboubakare ’18 and Grace Winslow ’18 found points during singles play. Aboubakare was victorious in the number-one singles match, winning 4-6, 6-3, 13-11, while Winslow came out with a 1-6, 6-4, 10-7 win in the number-four match.
When competing against Kalamazoo College, the Ladies won two of the three doubles matches. Jenna Murray ’17 and Winslow had an 8-3 victory in number-two doubles, while Alyssa Moreau ’18 and Abigail Younger ’15 went 8-3 in number-three doubles.
Despite their two defeats, the Ladies fought hard against Augustana College and came from behind for a 5-4 win. The Ladies’ points came from the tandem efforts of Samantha Murphy ’16 and Aboubakare, who won 8-4 at number-one doubles and later both won at singles. The final two points came from Winslow, who won 2-6, 7-6, 10-2 at number-four singles, and Elise Altschuler ’16, who won 6-1, 6-1, at number-six singles.
Both Winslow and Altschuler are optimistic about the rest of the season. “Overall it was a tough weekend … but in the end it was a good team experience,” Winslow said. Altschuler agreed, saying, “It’s always a really tough tournament both mentally and physically, but I’m really proud of my team for coming back.”
The 11th-ranked Lords (11-5) went up against the ninth-ranked Carnegie Mellon Tartans (12-7) on Sunday and came out with a 6-3 victory. The Lords won two of three doubles matches and four of six singles matches, defeating Carnegie Mellon for the second time this season. NCAC player of the week Sam Geier ’16 paired with Tim Rosensteel ’18 in number-one doubles, winning 9-7, while Wade Heerboth ’15 and Colin Haas ’15 teamed for another 9-7 win in the number-two match. The Lords were successful in singles, where Rosensteel, Robert Turlington ’16 and Jacob Huber ’15 won their matches. Geier clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-7, 6-0 duel.
Heerboth said “getting the win this weekend was extremely important because it was the last match of the season that could improve our national ranking.”
“This is a great sign for us because it shows we have steadily improved this season and should peak as a team for the conference tournament and then NCAAs.” Fellow senior Rosensteel shared his enthusiasm: “We played great considering the wind conditions weren’t ideal,” he said. “Every point required extra focus and the fact we were able to outplay the favored team in those conditions really sets the tone for the rest of the season.”