Four members of the women’s tennis team were selected to compete in the annual ITA tournament, held last Saturday, Sept. 29, at MIT. The competition is a challenging affair that brings the very best players in New England together to compete against each other without affecting their college teams’ records. The talent and depth on display was clear for everyone to see, and unfortunately for Wesleyan’s players this meant victories ended up just outside of their grasp. Nonetheless, no Cardinal representative went down without a fight.
Wesleyan’s top ranked player Genevieve Aniello ’13 was selected to play in the singles alongside Jessica Seidman ’16. Though both players went down in straight sets in their match-ups, Aniello to a Bowdoin rival and Seidman to a Brandeis opponent, the experience of playing against such highly-ranked opposition will only benefit them in future.
“Unfortunately, I did not win,” Seidman said. “However, I feel like it was a great experience to play against some of the best college tennis players and to see all of the different levels out there.”
Such attitude is refreshing from a freshman who has shown great promise in her rookie season.
Credit also goes to Aniello after she narrowly missed out on taking what would have been a morale boosting opening set, going down 5-7 to Bowdoin’s Emma Chow. Coming even closer to victory was Wesleyan’s doubles team of Lauren Jacobs ’15 and Madison Hartley ’15. The pair has shown itself to be a formidable force throughout this season, and it was no surprise that their match against Simmons College went down to the wire, eventually being taken in a tie-breaker 6-7 (8-6). What made the 6-7 defeat especially heartbreaking was that Jacobs and Hartley led 5-2 at one stage, and looked to be on track for what would have been a fantastic win.
“In the end, I think it was a case of nerves that cost us the match,” Jacobs said. “[The] match reminded us that we need to be mentally tough right up to the last point.”
From a results-based perspective, the tournament was not a success. Nonetheless, it was without a doubt another step in the right direction as the Cardinals aim for a successful spring season. Another positive for the team was the appearance courtside of two former captains, Sarah Miller ’12 and Ana Alvarado ’12. No doubt such a show of support was a morale booster for the four Cardinal players.
Next up for the team is a New England Division III tournament on Oct. 12-14 at Mount Holyoke. Expect more Cardinals to take part, and for the team to take another step in the right direction.