The Hopkins women’s tennis team beat visiting Washington College in a shut out 9-0 on Saturday afternoon. Currently ranked third, the Lady Jays remain the only unbeaten team in the Centennial Conference. They improved to 13-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
Hopkins began the day with a sweep of their doubles matches, dropping just five games total. Sophomore Olivia Kasten and freshman Ashnaa Rao defeated their opponents 8-5 first. Following their match were juniors Kaitlin Pfisterer and Macie Wilkins, beating Washington College 8-0. The third match found freshmen Amanda Kankanala and Amanda Soo Ping Chow defeating their opponents 8-0 as well.
“The season is going great so far,” Kasten said. “Right now we are still undefeated in the conference and are heading to another conference title. We are also gearing up for the NCAA tournament. We've still got some work to do, but I think we are on the right track to making it further than we've ever gone before.”
Wilkins echoed Kasten’s sentiments, saying, “The season is going great. We are undefeated in our conference and have only lost one match overall and it was to a top 5 team. This season we are focusing on physical fitness so that we prevent injuries and stay strong. We're also looking to make it back to NCAAs and hopefully make it past the elite eight, which is our best finish so far!”
In singles, Hopkins finished out the day by winning all six matches. Five of the six matches were taken in straight sets, and in three of the matches, the Lady Jays did not lose a single game.
The first match began with Rao winning her first set 6-4. She then lost her second 6-1, but came back to win in an exciting third-set tiebreaker, 10-8. Freshman Jody Law played the second singles match, dropping just two games in a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
“We are all working really hard in practice, and we hope to continue being successful in our matches,” Law said.
Freshman Mikey Barthelmass played next, winning 12 straight games in her win over Washington.
“The team had a long streak of being undefeated, we were even ranked number one in the country at one point,” Barthelmass said. “We recently just had our first lost against Emory, but we are now more determined then ever. Our next goal as a team is to win NCAA in California this May. My next goal is to become an All-American doubles player with my partner Elaine Baik.”
Playing fourth was Kankanala, who also beat her opponent in 12 straight games. At fifth, Wilkins won 6-2, 6-1 over Washington. Soo Ping Chow clinched the win for the Lady Jays with her 6-0, 6-0 win in the sixth and final match of the day.
The Hopkins women’s tennis team returns to action on Thursday, April 17 as they take on Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania.
