The women’s tennis team finished their season with two back-to-back home wins last week, including a 9-0 shutout of Wellesley College on April 24. Seniors Jackie Shtemberg and Stefanie Haar were honored for their contributions to the No. 23-ranked team, which includes a combined effort of both singles and doubles for a total of 297 wins for the College.
Haar triumphed over senior Alice Cummings 6-2, 6-1. Shtemberg defeated sophomore Marie Watanabe 6-3, 6-3 in singles, and paired up with freshman Felice Trinh to defeat Watanabe and her partner junior Jacqueline Shen 8-3. After losing the first set 2-6, Trinh rallied back in 2nd singles to defeat Shen 6-2, 10-2. The second doubles combo of freshmen Allison Tierney and Karisse Bendijo defeated the team of senior Mohona Siddique and junior Nathalie Herman 8-3. Bendijo went on to defeat senior Meghan Stubblebine 6-3, 6-4 while Tierney shutout Siddique 6-0, 6-0. Freshman Lauren Balsamo and sophomore Emily Petersack rounded out the effort in doubles by taking down Stubblebine and Cummings 8-6.
“My four years here on the team have been surreal. Most of my favorite college memories have involved the tennis team,” Shtemberg said. “The team has grown during my time here and i am so proud to have been a part of the College’s tennis team.”
In midweek play, the College won 7-2 over Bates College on April 21. Shtemberg led the team with wins as an individual and with Trinh in 1st doubles. The pair easily defeated sophomore Meg Anderson and senior Alexandra Piacquad 8-3. Tierney and Bendijo were also successful over the Bobcats’ freshmen Ashley Brunk and Nicole Russell 8-2. In singles action, Shtemberg dominated Meg Anderson 6-0, 6-1. Freshman Paige Aiello bounced back from her loss in doubles to shut out senior Jean Gulliver 6-0, 6-0. Balsamo, Haar, and Petersack all won their matches in 2 sets, barely giving their opponents a chance to score a point.
For the men, the mid-week result was their only match, as the Lions fell to Bates 8-1. Sophomore Dan Lee provided the silver lining in the match, winning his 16th match this season by defeating senior Zach Fenno 6-4, 6-3. The No. 29-ranked Bobcats swept the three double teams. Senior Amrit Rupasinghe and freshman Matt Bettles defeated sophomores Steven and Stewart Fernandez 8-4. Senior Max Berger and sophomore Jeffrey Beaton took on freshmen TJ Riley and Dean Thompson 8-3. Finally, Fenno and freshman Rob Crampton defeated Lee and junior Jonathan Yu 8-4. Bates College continued with an impressive effort in singles as well, taking five of the six matchups.
“Bates was the second hardest team we played all season,” Steven Fernandez said. “They definitely didn’t deserve to be ranked 29th.”
Even though the team has hit a collective slump by losing two consecutive matches, they still keep a positive attitude heading into their last two matches against Haverford College on Tuesday April 27 and familiar rival Stevens Institute on Wednesday April 28.
“If we can raise our intensity and really focus, I think we can beat both teams,” Fernandez continued. “When we played Stevens in the fall we beat them.”
“Our team dynamic is amazing, especially when it comes to doubles,” Stewart Fernandez said. “As twins, Steve and I read each other well, and Dean and TJ are best friends, so their chemistry is great too. I have confidence in the team as we get ready for nationals.”
The men finish the regular season with home matches against Stevens Institute of Technology today at 3:30 p.m. at the College’s Tennis Complex.
