While many Hopkins students enjoyed a restful week away from Homewood, the men’s and women’s tennis teams were hard at work hosting their Centennial Conference season openers this past Saturday against the Dickinson College Red Devils. Both teams walked away with a victory to start their season with a perfect 1-0 record in Conference play.
After some early season losses to some of the top-ranked teams in the nation, the number 15 Hopkins women’s team finally found its rhythm, shutting down the Red Devils 9-0.
Freshman Anjali Kashyap explained the importance of the Conference victory for the young team after a slow start to the season.
“The Conference win was definitely a confidence booster,” Kashyap said. “During our indoor season, we faced D-I and top 20 ranked teams. As a young team, we were able to get some individual wins and close matches.”
Winning every doubles matchup and dropping only five games in total, the Blue Jays jumped to a quick 3-0 lead over the Red Devils.
Playing at first in doubles, Kashyap and sophomore Sophia Strickland won 8-4 over the Red Devils duo of senior Lauren Altschuler and freshman Hanna Butler. Junior Katie Gauch and freshman Margo Gerke played at second and dropped only one game in their match against the Red Devils. Junior Chrissy Simon and freshman Dhanya Asokumar shut out their opponents from Dickinson College in eight straight games to ensure their victory.
Not skipping a beat, the women continued to dominate in their singles matches, sweeping their opponents to complete the shutout against the Red Devils. At first, Kashyap went 6-1, 6-2 for her victory over Butler. Playing at second, Strickland dropped only three games against Dickinson freshman Lexi Epstein, going 6-0, 6-3 to put the Jays up 5-0. Solidifying the win for the Blue Jays, Asokumar played at third, winning 6-2, 6-0.
With the victory clinched by Hopkins, the remaining three matches were played in a pro-set form. The Blue Jays managed to not drop a single match as Gauch went 8-0 at fourth, and Simon and Gerke went 8-2 at fifth and sixth, respectively, to complete the shutout.
The convincing 9-0 win over the Red Devils was the first win of the year for the Blue Jays.
“It was important to secure a win to not only gain more confidence as a team but to also practice the things we needed to work on,” Asokumar said. “The goal is to keep improving our game and ultimately play well in NCAAs and make it to the Elite Eight like last year.”
The Jays improve to 23-10 all-time against the Red Devils, claiming their 20th straight win in the series.
Meanwhile, the men entered their Centennial season opener against the Red Devils with a number of impressive wins from early March already in their back pockets. These include an 8-1 win over Salisbury University, a 5-4 win over Washington & Lee University and a 5-4 win over 20th-ranked Bates College.
In their Centennial season opener, the 18th-ranked Hopkins men’s team took down the visiting Dickinson College team. To open Conference play, the Blue Jays swept the Red Devils in all three doubles matches, jumping out to a 3-0 lead.
At first, the duo of senior Justin Kang and freshman Alex Matisse grabbed the Jays’ first point of the day with an 8-3 win. Following up, sophomore Vik Vasan and freshman Bryan Chu went 8-6, and freshman Jack Hogan and junior Colin Muraika went 8-2, playing at second and third, respectively.
At first in singles, Kang pushed the Blue Jays’ lead to four, dropping just one game. From there, the Blue Jays kept rolling. At second, sophomore Aaron Carey grabbed a 7-6, 7-1 win; at third, freshman Robby Simon won 6-1, 6-3; and at fourth, freshman Matt Lurie won 6-4, 6-2.
After the first four singles matches, the Blue Jays would drop their first and only point of the day as Dickinson freshman Joey Bolanos would come up with a close 7-6, 6-4 win at fifth over Blue Jay sophomore Nathan Safran. Sophomore Charlie Humes finished up the season opener with a 6-3, 6-2 win at sixth, solidifying the Blue Jays 8-1 win over the Red Devils.
Both the men’s and women’s teams stand undefeated in the Centennial after their Conference openers. Coming up this Saturday, the men’s team will travel to Atlanta to compete at Emory University. Meanwhile, the women will stay to take on Gettysburg College at home on Friday.
While many Hopkins students enjoyed a restful week away from Homewood, the men’s and women’s tennis teams were hard at work hosting their Centennial Conference season openers this past Saturday against the Dickinson College Red Devils. Both teams walked away with a victory to start their season with a perfect 1-0 record in Conference play.
After some early season losses to some of the top-ranked teams in the nation, the number 15 Hopkins women’s team finally found its rhythm, shutting down the Red Devils 9-0.
Freshman Anjali Kashyap explained the importance of the Conference victory for the young team after a slow start to the season.
“The Conference win was definitely a confidence booster,” Kashyap said. “During our indoor season, we faced D-I and top 20 ranked teams. As a young team, we were able to get some individual wins and close matches.”
Winning every doubles matchup and dropping only five games in total, the Blue Jays jumped to a quick 3-0 lead over the Red Devils.
Playing at first in doubles, Kashyap and sophomore Sophia Strickland won 8-4 over the Red Devils duo of senior Lauren Altschuler and freshman Hanna Butler. Junior Katie Gauch and freshman Margo Gerke played at second and dropped only one game in their match against the Red Devils. Junior Chrissy Simon and freshman Dhanya Asokumar shut out their opponents from Dickinson College in eight straight games to ensure their victory.
Not skipping a beat, the women continued to dominate in their singles matches, sweeping their opponents to complete the shutout against the Red Devils. At first, Kashyap went 6-1, 6-2 for her victory over Butler. Playing at second, Strickland dropped only three games against Dickinson freshman Lexi Epstein, going 6-0, 6-3 to put the Jays up 5-0. Solidifying the win for the Blue Jays, Asokumar played at third, winning 6-2, 6-0.
With the victory clinched by Hopkins, the remaining three matches were played in a pro-set form. The Blue Jays managed to not drop a single match as Gauch went 8-0 at fourth, and Simon and Gerke went 8-2 at fifth and sixth, respectively, to complete the shutout.
The convincing 9-0 win over the Red Devils was the first win of the year for the Blue Jays.
“It was important to secure a win to not only gain more confidence as a team but to also practice the things we needed to work on,” Asokumar said. “The goal is to keep improving our game and ultimately play well in NCAAs and make it to the Elite Eight like last year.”
The Jays improve to 23-10 all-time against the Red Devils, claiming their 20th straight win in the series.
Meanwhile, the men entered their Centennial season opener against the Red Devils with a number of impressive wins from early March already in their back pockets. These include an 8-1 win over Salisbury University, a 5-4 win over Washington & Lee University and a 5-4 win over 20th-ranked Bates College.
In their Centennial season opener, the 18th-ranked Hopkins men’s team took down the visiting Dickinson College team. To open Conference play, the Blue Jays swept the Red Devils in all three doubles matches, jumping out to a 3-0 lead.
At first, the duo of senior Justin Kang and freshman Alex Matisse grabbed the Jays’ first point of the day with an 8-3 win. Following up, sophomore Vik Vasan and freshman Bryan Chu went 8-6, and freshman Jack Hogan and junior Colin Muraika went 8-2, playing at second and third, respectively.
At first in singles, Kang pushed the Blue Jays’ lead to four, dropping just one game. From there, the Blue Jays kept rolling. At second, sophomore Aaron Carey grabbed a 7-6, 7-1 win; at third, freshman Robby Simon won 6-1, 6-3; and at fourth, freshman Matt Lurie won 6-4, 6-2.
After the first four singles matches, the Blue Jays would drop their first and only point of the day as Dickinson freshman Joey Bolanos would come up with a close 7-6, 6-4 win at fifth over Blue Jay sophomore Nathan Safran. Sophomore Charlie Humes finished up the season opener with a 6-3, 6-2 win at sixth, solidifying the Blue Jays 8-1 win over the Red Devils.
Both the men’s and women’s teams stand undefeated in the Centennial after their Conference openers. Coming up this Saturday, the men’s team will travel to Atlanta to compete at Emory University. Meanwhile, the women will stay to take on Gettysburg College at home on Friday.
