The struggles continued for the Wesleyan women’s tennis team this week, as the Cardinals dropped a pair of matches, first to the Connecticut College Camels Thursday, and then to the Williams Ephs Saturday. Both NESCAC rivals handed the women identical 8-1 loses, sinking the Cardinals’ record to a disappointing 0-5.
“We keep getting closer and closer to pulling out more wins,” said Susannah Ragab ’06. “ I know all the scores say 1-8, but when we played Vassar, Connecticut College and Williams there were several doubles matches that ended in tiebreakers and several singles matches that went to three sets. We’re so close, each of us can smell the win, but we haven’t quite tasted it.”
The match with Connecticut College began with an ominous tone. As is becoming a trend in the women’s 2004 fall tennis season, the match was forced inside due to rain, the third time that has happened this year. Playing in the fifth seed for the Cardinals, Ragab managed to net Wesleyan’s lone victory against intrastate rivals Connecticut College. Ragab took on her Camels opponent handily, winning in two sets, 6-3 and 6-2.
“The first set was tough, but I rolled it out,” Ragab said. “Then by the second set, I realized that girl just couldn’t hang with my ground strokes, and every time she came to net I just gave her a nice lob or a passing shot. She didn’t have a chance.”
The remainder of the singles draws, however, went to the Camels. Ace Tiffany Lo ’05 took her match to three sets, but ultimately fell 6-1 in the third. Ashley Brick ’05, Victoria Santoro ’07, Rika Tuschiya ’05 and Sarah Connell ’05 all fell in straight sets.
The three doubles matches all went to the Camels as well, ensuring their 8-1 victory. Lo and Brick fell 7-4, as did the third pair, Tsuchiya and Leah Katz ’07. The second seeds, Megan Henderson ’06 and Santoro, managed to fight their way into a tiebreaker before going down.
A Saturday afternoon duel with arch nemesis Williams provided the Cardinals with a chance to turn their tough season around. Unfortunately for the women, the Ephs had no intention of letting that happen, downing the Red and Black 8-1, but Wesleyan scored a few positives out of the match.
“In past years, Williams has been ranked along with Amherst at the top of the ladder and we haven’t had a chance against them,” Connell said. “However, this year our team didn’t relent and we played amazingly. Many of the matches could have gone either way.”
Connell, the six-seed, downed her Eph rival in three sets, dominating the first 6-1, being blanked in the second 6-0, and battling for the win with a 7-6 overtime win in the third.
“It was uplifting to win my singles match against Williams,” Connell said. “The greatest part was that during the matches, in between games, we were all cheering each other on. I was exhausted in my third set and having my teammates there yelling out encouragement kept me on my toes.”
Regrettably for the Cards, Connell’s match was the only one to go in Wesleyan’s direction. Lo fell again in three sets, this time taking the final battle to the tiebreaker before falling. Brick, Santoro and Tsuchiya all lost in two sets, while Ragab fought to a three set loss. Wesleyan could not manage a point in the doubles match, and the Ephs sent the Cardinals home with another brutal 8-1 beating.
As the women gear up to face off with Trinity this afternoon, team members share the sentiment that they are on the right track.
“With every match our team as a whole is improving,” Brick said. “Due to the changes in coaching and the differences in our roster allowing for brand new doubles teams, the fall season is really a time for development. The matches give us experience that we can hopefully build on in the spring. Having had so many close matches already this season I am confident that we will soon be able to close out tight matches in the future.”
Leave a Reply