Women's Tennis | 2/24/2015 8:25:00 AM
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ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT Women's tennis opened the 2015 spring schedule with a 9-0 loss to Liberty League rival Skidmore College on Saturday at Midtown Athletic Club. Although Skidmore proved to be tough opponents and won each match, the Tigers remained poised and determined throughout the afternoon.
Skidmore won all three doubles matches by 8-0 scores.
Sara Bjork (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs) and
Diane Wang (Ames, IA/Ames) played at the top position,
Margaret Barnstien (Tacoma, WA/Spanaway Lake) and
Gianna Heaviland (Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito) played second doubles, the third doubles pair was
Paige Baker (Fairport, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) and
Marie Jubert (Fairport, NY/Fairport). The matches all followed a similar course; although the Tigers had a slow start at the beginning, the women became progressively more aggressive as their matches developed. Each of the doubles pairings was able to adapt to the playing style of their opponents, and the Tigers found new ways to persevere and keep the Thoroughbreds on their toes. The scores for the doubles matches were not indicative of the effort and tact that was put fourth by each athlete.
The singles lineup constituted of (in lineup order) Bjork, Heaviland, Wang, Baker, Riane Riethel, and
Vicky Ganev (Olney, MD/Rockville). The singles lineup has a lot of potential this season, and each athlete was able to keep up with the high level of play against Skidmore. Bjork battled in her match (6-2, 6-3) with strong groundstrokes and by strategically attacking at the net. Although Heaviland, Wang, Baker and Riethel fell to the Thoroughbreds 6-0,6-0 and Ganev lost 6-1,6-0, each match consisted of winners, powerful shots, an ability to formulate new strategies and long rallies.
Captain
Sara Bjork (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs) was proud of the effort put fourth by her teammates. "The score definitely doesn't reflect the amount of work all the girls put in today. There was a lot of fight; a lot of deuces, and everyone was mentally tough the entire time. Skidmore is the hardest match we will have to face both physically and mentally. We have a lot of work to do in the next two weeks, especially since we lost one of our top players, but everyone is willing to pick up the extra work. I'm so proud of how everyone played today and kept a positive attitude."
The team is working towards becoming a formidable force in the Liberty League and is ready to practice diligently in order to bring this goal into fruition. Next up, the Tigers will travel to Syracuse to play Le Moyne College on March 6 followed by another away match against St. Lawrence on March 8.
