As the season presses on, the women’s tennis team has continued to improve from week to week. On Saturday, the Lady Jays topped Centennial Conference opponent Muhlenberg as well as 21st ranked Mary Washington. The two wins extended the team’s win streak to six consecutive games.
In their rout of host Muhlenberg, Hopkins did not drop a set. Freshman Jody Law and senior Abby Clark started off the match with an 8-2 win at first doubles against Muhlenberg’s Nina Sanders and Emily Szulman. Their performance was followed up by an 8-6 victory by juniors Kaitlin Pfisterer and Macie Wilkins at second. Playing in the third spot was senior Lauren Fields and freshman Anna Kankanala. Although the Mules put up a fight, they were no match for the Lady Jays as they fell 8-5 at third. At the conclusion of doubles, Hopkins had jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
Success continued in singles play for the team as they won their first matches in straight sets. Law had an impressive 6-2, 6-4 win at first followed by Clark, who managed to win every game but one. At third, Kankanala was able to clinch the Blue Jay victory with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Jennifer Goldberg.
The Lady Jays won the remaining three matches to bring the final tally to 9-0 in favor of Hopkins.
The ladies who travelled to Fredericksburg found similar success against the Mary Washington Eagles. Although the Blue Jays fell into an early hole after doubles, they were capable of rising up and dominating their singles matches.
Freshman Amanda Austi and senior Hailey Hogan fell 8-4 at first against the Eagles’ Lindsay Raulston and Shelby Harris. Juniors Shannon Herndon and Stephanie Rettig unfortunately lost a hard fought battle with a score of 8-6 at second. Sophomore Olivia Kasten and freshmen Ashnaa Rao scored the only Hopkins point of the doubles matches at third. They bested Mary Washington’s Mackenzie Smith and Ashley Barrow by a score of 8-5
It looked as if the Lady Jays were in trouble as Austi dropped the first singles match leaving the score at 3-1 in favor of the Eagles. The tides changed quickly though as Rao notched the second Hopkins point at second. Hogan found similar success against Smith at third, tying the match up 3-3. At fourth, junior Elaine Baik clinched the victory with a 7-5, 6-1 win.
The final score of the match was 6-3, as the Lady Jays did not drop another match.
These two wins leave Hopkins with a 17-1 record overall and an impressive 8-0 in Centennial Conference play. The team is currently ranked third in the nation and hope to improve upon this Saturday, as the Blue Jays take on Swarthmore in Baltimore in the final match of the regular season. They look to cap off one of the most impressive seasons in program history and keep the momentum going as they prepare for the Centennial Conference Championships.
