“If there is one way to describe the Hopkins women’s tennis team, it would be this: a group of determined, hard working girls,” sophomore Elaine Baik said.
The Lady Jays proved their determination this past weekend at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Tournament.
The team claimed the elusive title of ITA Division III 2013 National Women’s Team Indoor Championship at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, the squad's first ever. Hopkins entered the national tournament ranked 11th but managed to overcome Carnegie Mellon 5-4 in the last match for the win. Amherst College took second while Williams placed third. Hopkins is now ranked number one in the nation.
The ITA tournament, consisting of eight schools, challenges teams to win at least five out of nine matches played to advance to the next round. Each round consists of three doubles matches followed by six singles matches. The double matches are an eight game pro-set while the single matches are best two out of three. Each Hopkins player played both singles and doubles.
During the first round of play, Hopkins defeated the 10th seeded team, DePauw (6-3), to advance to the semis. The Jays powered through this round to pull off not one but two huge upsets. Both the third ranked team and the number one seed, University of Chicago (6-3), fell under Hopkins' racquets. Their inspiring performance sent the Jays to the final to face 5th ranked Carnegie Mellon.
Last year, Carnegie Mellon fell short as runners up, while Hopkins placed seventh in the tournament.
Chelsea Motie and Bryn Raschke of Carnegie Mellon took the lead early, winning 8-2 in second doubles against junior Abby Clark and sophomore Shannon Herndon, Hopkins. The Mellon twosome finished the weekend 3-0 in doubles play. However Hopkins pair sophomore Stephanie Rettig and freshman Sydney Lehamn answered by routing Abby Hamstra and Brooke Tsu 8-3.
Tartans' first doubles pair Katie Cecil and Angela Pratt topped Hopkins' top duo, junior Hailey Hogan and sophomore Elaine Baik. Many other games went into deuce, but Carnegie Mellon managed to come out of doubles with a 2-1 lead, as Hopkins faced a doubles deficit.
The Tartans started out strong in the singles matches. While Motie continued to demonstrate strong play in her match, Herndon earned the Blue Jays points with a defeat over Elizabeth Martin (6-1, 6-0). Tartan Cecil also had a strong showing against Blue Jay Hogan, winning the first set in 6-2. However, Hogan forced Cecil into three breaks of serve, beating Hogan in the second set. Cecil triumphed in the third deciding set, 6-3, giving the Tartans a 4-2 lead with three matches to go. Hopkins would need victories in the next three matches to win the title.
Feisty freshman Lehamn battled to keep the Jays alive with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Pratt after a match of sweeping serves and intense play. Clark added to Lehamn's victory with her own over Carnegie Mellon's Tsu. Clark beat Tsu 6-4 the first set, but Tsu broke for a 4-2 win in the second. Clark won 6-2 in the third and final set to tie everything up and force the final deciding match.
With both teams holding their breath on the sidelines, Rettig faced off against freshman Abbey Hamstra in the victory match. Riding the surge of Hopkins momentum, Rettig made quick work of Hamstra in the first set, 6-2. The second set decided the win, as Rettig delivered a 6-3 victory, securing the title.
Though the girls were more than happy with their win, they had nothing but kind words for their competitors.
“Carnegie Mellon played a wonderful match, and they gave us a great battle, so I would like to congratulate them for their performance,” Baik said.
Despite their low seed, the squad never gave up hope.
“The team’s overall performance this weekend was, to say the least, spectacular. Coming into the tournament, we didn’t expect anything so we played our hardest with nothing to lose.” Baik said. “We wanted to do much better than last year and we knew we had the ability to do so.”
Baik credits the win to her team's overwhelming spirit and collectivity.
“…No matter what happens, win or lose, it’s about the team. Till the last point, no one ever gives up and [everyone] fights so hard through the tough battles,” Baik said. “…We all work together to do well and no matter what the end result is, we support and push each other to succeed.”
Senior Andrea Berlinhof also commented on her team's play and teamwork in general.
“Each of the girls that played this weekend battled hard for every match,” Berlinhof said. “Different people won each day, but somehow everyone came up big for our team and won at the right times.”
The Blue Jays will compete again on May 20th in San Antonio, Texas to play Trinity, ranked 15th nationally.
