Muhlenberg tops struggling Tennis

Forced to play indoors for the first time this year due to inclement weather, the Hopkins' Tennis teams fell to Muhlenberg by scores of 5-2 on the Men's side and 7-2 on the Women's side.

Both Hopkins squads were coming off strong wins versus Dickinson College, but faced much stiffer competition in the form of the Mules. The Muhlenberg men (5-1 overall, 3-1 in conference) and women (6-3 overall, 6-2 in conference) have been dominant this spring, and they were just as impressive against Hopkins.

Due to the harsh weather, all matches were played indoors on multipurpose courts. The rubber floors were drastically different from the hard courts outside, and proved to be a tough adjustment for all of the Blue Jay players.

"The ball would slide and skid when it bounced, it was difficult adjusting," said sophomore Vandna Jerath. "The ball moved incredibly fast."

The courts cannot be completely blamed however, as Muhlenberg has been on a tear as of late. Unfortunately, neither team was able to slow down the stampeding Mules.

The men started slow, with all three of their doubles teams decisively overmatched by Muhlenberg. The No. 1 doubles pair of Kevin Alford and Justin Balisario was beaten by Brad Scheller and Matt Fleissig by a score of 8-4.

The No. 2 doubles tandem of Grant Roch and Michael Kelly-Sell lost 8-1, as Jeff Kraft and Cameron Parke dominated the match. The No. 3 doubles team did not fare any better as Krisna Potarazu and Aaron Ong were defeated by Adam Nadiff and Brad Gutwillig 8-2.

It seemed as if the Jays could overcome this sluggish beginning, as junior Kevin Alford put Hopkins on the board with a tough win over the other No. 1 singles player, Brad Scheller, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Nevertheless, the rest of the team was unable to follow suit.

Other than a come-from-behind win by Michael Kelly-Sell, Hopkins lost every other match. Kelly-Sell overcame a one set deficit to defeat Brian Barkausas in the No. 5 singles match 3-6, 6-4, 10-8.

Hopkins No. 2 singles Justin Belisario won a hard-fought set against Jeff Krat, but was unable to close the deal, eventually losing 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-1. Krisna Potarazu, who had previously been undefeated in his last four matches, was unable to get by Cameron Parke, falling 6-2, 6-1.

Grant Roch, the No. 4 singles player, lost to Matt Fleissig 6-0, 6-0, while Aaron Ong was defeated by Mitchell Reading 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 6 singles match.

The women also stumbled out of the gate and were unable to overcome the early deficit. However, the women's doubles fared better than their male counterparts, stealing one from the Mules. The combination of Amanda Leese and Liz Crowe pulled out a tough win over Sarah Niebler and Megan Schreiber 9-8 (7-2).

Unfortunately, both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles team couldn't pull out victories. Gena Ross and Mckenzie Parke defeated the Hopkins' tandem of Michelle Liang and Cara Loeys 8-3, while Amy Schmidt and Emily Oster defeated Vandna Jerath and Jill Seidman 8-1.

The singles matches produced disappointing results as well. Amanda Leese, the only undefeated Hopkins player, was able to best Emily Oster 6-3, 2-6, 10-6.

The victory represented Hopkins only singles victory on the women's side.

Liz Crowe got off to a fast start against Sarah Niebler, winning the first set easily. Unfortunately, Niebler came back, handily beating Crowe in the last two sets, and winning the match, 1-6, 6-1, 10-1.

Jerath, the No. 1 singles player, was defeated by Gena Ross 6-2, 6-2, while Michelle Liang lost to Amy Schmidt 6-2, 6-0.

The No. 3 singles player, Cara Loeys, was beaten by Mackenzie Parke, 6-3, 6-1, while Pauline Pelletier could not beat Megan Schreiber, losing 8-6.

Both the Men's and Women's teams are looking to rebound after a tough day at Muhlenberg, with some pivotal Centennial Conference games still looming on the schedule.

"We have this week to practice, and work on our weaknesses," said Jerath. "Our biggest weakness is doubles. We are still strong, and I think we can still finish the season on a positive note."

"It is definitely important for us to get back," added Alford. "We have a whole week to practice."

In their previous matches versus Dickinson College, both the men and women won, with scores of 5-2 and 6-3, respectively. Both the men and women took four of six singles and two of three doubles.