Tennis teams finish season strong
by Brandon Leibsohn '10The tennis season ended on a positive note for the Men's Tennis Team on Tuesday. In the finale, the team was able to pull off a sweep giving them four wins for the year. Their final game came against Rensselaer College at home in the Scott Field House. The Continentals entered their match with much needed energy and confidence against a team that had won only once the entire year.
Jared Friedberg '09 played in the number one position and took out his opponent in one set, 6-2. Jared Solomon '08 surrendered only four points in the final two sets of his collegiate career, and Mike Moreno '11 took down the number four player in two sets.
In doubles play, the team came away with rather convincing victories in all three of their games. Solomon and Greg Kreitzer '11 earned their third victory of the season as doubles partners defeating their opponents by the score of 8-2. Ben Freeman '10 got his first action of the year when he teamed up with Dan Gross '11 in the victory against Rensselaer's third ranked doubles team.
On April 15, Hamilton went on the road to Union College for a non-conference match. The team showed maturation by taking down their weak opponents. They did not let Union hang around and crushed them for a 7-2 victory. Friedberg put up a great performance in allowing only one point in two sets to his opponent from the number one position. Kreitzer and Solomon both put forth another solid effort in their matches and easily beat their opponents. Moreno and Friedberg took down their doubles opponent 8-3 ensuring the Hamilton victory.
The Lady Continentals also completed their season last week with a home match. They had been competitive in every match they played in this season and their effort continued in their season finale against St. Lawrence. St. Lawrence was coming into the match with an 11-3 record compared to Hamilton's 5-9 record. Yet the difference in wins and losses did not translate to the court, as Hamilton almost took down their heavily favored opponent.
Deborah Barany '11 played in the second position and earned her tenth win on the year in a three set thriller. The first set went into extra points as both players kept coming back at each other. However, Barany did not let her first set loss deter her and she came back to win the match. Ashley Pardoe '09 collected her eighth win when she defeated her opponent in straight sets.
Doubles play proved to be the calling card for the Continentals. Kara Powers '08 and Marni Powers '08 improved their standing in the Hamilton record book with a 9-7 win against St. Lawrence's top doubles team. Pardoe teamed with Laura Brantley '10 in the second game and pulled Hamilton to a tie with St. Lawrence in the match. Caroline Greenberg '11 and Maile Thayer '11 took their opponents to the brink in the final doubles game, but came up just short giving St. Lawrence the victory over Hamilton in the match.
Both teams can definitely use the experience they gained this season to propel them into a great beginning next year. The Lady Continentals will be composed of mostly juniors and seniors and their leadership will prove to be vital. On the men's side, the freshman players were able to get in some collegiate competition and still succeed against their veteran opponents. Next year they will have had a season under their belt and can be counted on to produce more on the court. Both teams should be good enough to compete for the league championship next year if they are able to use the offseason to improve on a few of their weaknesses.