By Tyler Morello
Staff Writer
The College’s men’s and women’s tennis teams strung together some impressive wins this week, with the men going 3-1 and the women winning three of four matches.
Coming off three straight losses to some high-quality teams, the men’s team was looking for a spark to turn their season around. They delivered a commanding performance against Drew University on Friday, April 18.
In doubles, Juniors Harrison Maitland-Carter and Asa Wong won 6-0, while freshman Sidd Arudi and sophomore Nathan Chan matched them with a 6-0 victory of their own. Juniors Brett Schuster and Alberto Thomas controlled their match and won 6-2.
Maitland-Carter, Alberto, Schuster and Chan each stayed undefeated on the day with victories in their singles matches, while sophomore Aidan Twamley and junior Olufela Fieulleteau each won to sweep Drew on the day 7-0.
Less than 24 hours later was a matchup against SUNY Oneonta that resulted in the same favor of the Lions, 7-0. The only close match for the College was doubles with Maitland-Carter and Wong competing in a back-and-forth match that came down to a tiebreaker.
Later that Saturday, the Lions faced another conference opponent in Rutgers-Camden, and once again dominated with a 7-0 sweep, making it 21 unanswered matches won over three separate matchups. This win clinched their second straight appearance in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship.
The College finishes first in the East Division of the conference, which sets the stage for the WIAC Championship match against the No. 26 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, who are the West Division champions.
The men’s team also fought hard against No. 35 Stevens on Tuesday, April 22, but fell just short, losing 4-3. The Lions were not able to grab the doubles sets win, as Sidd and Chan were the only duo to win their match.
Down by a point, the Lions showed some heart battling with one of the top teams in the nation. Twamley, Chan, and Fieulleteau each won their singles matches, but they all finished after already being down 4-0 as a team.
As for the women, they were coming in hot off a four game win streak that included another clinch of a New Jersey Athletic Conference championship. Hosting No. 36 Rochester on April 12, the Lions secured a hard-fought 4–3 victory, marking their first win over a top 40 team this season.
They took two of the three doubles matches on the day, with the duos of sophomore Zoey Albert and freshman Shruti Mannan, and freshman Elizabeth Ring and sophomore Gabriella Robinson getting the jobs done.
Mannan and Robinson were the first to finish and be victorious in their singles matches. Needing one more match, senior Aira Abalos completed a 7-6, 6-2 triumph with the tiebreaker set going her way 12-10.
The following day on April 13, the College traveled to Hoboken to defeat Stevens 6-1. Once again, Albert and Mannan, and Ring and Robinson took care of business in their matches.
After a tough loss to Goldey-Beacom, the Lions turned their attention to the semifinal round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs against Kean University, whom they had beaten previously in the season 7-0.
Abalos and freshman Gabrielle Brideau got the Lions on the board with a 6-0 doubles advantage, while Ring and Robinson followed their lead and won 6-0 in theirs. Albert and Shruti were leading 4-0 in their match as well.
Abalos, Brideau and Ring were the first to complete and succeed in their matches to complete the 4-0 sweep of Kean. This win places the Lions in the NJAC Championship match, where they will vie for their 42nd consecutive conference title.
