In the first dual match of the season, the women’s tennis team rolled to a 9-0 victory over Assumption College at home on Saturday. The team improved to 2-0 with an 8-1 win over Rhode Island College on Sunday afternoon.
Without captain Anika Fischer ‘10, playing on Saturday, the team was somewhat anxious going into the match. Fischer, who was taking the LSATs, is not only the team captain, but also its number one singles player. Sarah Miller ’12 filled in for Fischer at the top spot.
“Although I knew it was going to be tough without Anika, I think everyone really stepped up their game and played to their fullest potential,” Miller said. “Assumption had a very different style of play than what we were used to, so all the girls did a great job of staying tough and altering their games.”
Although some of the players had been moved up a spot on the ladder and others had to play with new doubles partners, the team ultimately came together and pulled out two big wins on both Saturday and Sunday. The Cards started off the action on Saturday with a trio of doubles victories. The number-one duo, Miller and Ana Alvarado ’12, finished with an 8-3 victory. This was Alvarado’s first doubles win.
“Having the opportunity to play number one doubles was an amazing experience,” Alvarado said. “I was really nervous to compete at that level, so it was definitely a rewarding win.”
The No. 2 pair, freshman Genevieve Aniello and senior Meredith Holmes, also dominated their match, winning 8-3. And at the No. 3 spot, Linda McDougal ’11 and Casey Simchik ’10 won their match 8-5.
Wesleyan finished the day off with six impressive singles matches. At No. 1, Miller soundly defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-1. Playing at No. 2, Holmes split her first sets 6–2, 4-6, but eventually finished with a 10-2 win in the tiebreaker. Aniello had a great day at No. 3, trouncing her opponent 6-0, 6-1. McDougal, playing at No. 4, defeated her opponent 6-3, 6-3. At No. 5, Casey Simchik struggled a bit in her first set, but ultimately shut out her opponent in the second set and finished the match with a 7-5, 6-0 victory. Taylor Morales ’13, holding down the sixth spot, ensured the Wesleyan sweep with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
On Sunday, due to heavy rain, the match was moved indoors to Bacon Field House, but the Cards were undeterred. The team dominated Rhode Island College throughout both the singles and doubles matches,
Having taken over the No. 1 singles spot, Holmes played a long, tough match, but was ultimately defeated 6-7, 6-4, (8-10). At No. 2, Aniello quickly defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-0. McDougal, having moved up to the number-three spot, won her match 6-1, 6-4, and Simchik won her match a No. 4 by the same score. Playing at the number-five spot, Hannah Berkman ’12 stepped up and played a terrific match at No. 5, ultimately beating her opponent 6-3, 6-3. Morales rounded out the singles action with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6.
The Cards closed the day with three easy doubles matches. Fischer returned to action and was paired up with Alvarado at the top spot; the duo defeated their R.I.C. counterparts 8-1. The No. 2 pair of Aniello and Holmes played another great match and won 8-2. In the last match, Simchik and McDougal, playing at the number-three spot, rolled right through with another 8-1 victory.
Wesleyan’s will see action again next Sunday at the Grass Court Doubles Championship in Newport, R.I. The Cardinals will then go for their first 3-0 start since the 2000-01 season on Wednesday at Mount Holyoke.