By Josh Kestenbaun
Staff Writer
With the regular season drawing to a close, the men’s and women’s teams finished in impressive fashion, winning three of their combined four matches over the last week. The men went 1-1, and the women finished with two wins.
In the last week of their season, the men shut out Franklin and Marshall College on Sunday, April 19, but fell to Stevens Institute of Technology, 6-3, a week later.
The match against Franklin and Marshall was the Lions’ final regular season home match. Prior to the match, the team honored senior Ezra Klemow for his dedication to the team and his leadership throughout his career. The current members of the team all signed a poster and compiled a photo album for Klemow, and he played an exhibition singles match which didn’t count toward the match score.
“I had a lot of mixed feelings at the last home match,” Klemow said. “I was definitely sad that it was over, but all of the things my teammates did for me that day made it incredibly memorable.”
Across the two matches, juniors Pierce Cooper and Billy Buchbinder and sophomore Jack August were the only players to post victories in both of their singles matches. None of the doubles teams pulled out two victories over the two matches.
The men’s team finished the year with an 11-3 record with seven wins being shutouts. The team must now wait until Monday, May 4, to find out if they will continue their season and play in the NCAA D-III tournament.
Like the men’s team, the women’s team disposed of Franklin and Marshall on the same day by a score of 8-1. However, unlike the men, the women earned a victory in their final match of the season, defeating St. Lawrence University, 7-2.
Over the two matches, the women were a perfect 6-0 in the doubles rounds, with only one of the doubles matches going to a tiebreaker. In addition, four of the six singles players posted 2-0 records this week: junior Emma Allen, sophomores Katie Buchbinder and Anna Prestera and freshman Maddy Stoner.
“(These were) huge wins for us, two teams that beat us a year ago,” Coach Scott DiCheck said. “I think it’s the best we’ve played this season.”
The women finished their season with an impressive 14-1 record on the tail of a five-match winning streak. Back in the fall season, they won the New Jersey Athletic Conference title. This title clinched them a spot in the NCAA D-III tournament, and just like the men, the field for the women will be announced on Monday, May 4, at 12 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.
