The women's tennis team improved their record to 9-0 on Saturday, April 5 with an 8-1 win against Haverford College (4-6). The win marked the Lady Jays' ninth straight victory, making this the best start in school history for Hopkins.
They also improved their record to 6-0 in the Centennial Conference. The following day, the Lady Jays hoped to remain undefeated when they travelled to Pittsburgh to face a tough rival, Carnegie Mellon (13-6). However, they ended up falling just short, losing 7-2.
In the match against Haverford, Hopkins won two out of the three doubles matches to take an early 2-1 lead against the Fords. Junior Brittany Matava and sophomore Anita Bhamidipati won their eighth match against Haverford. They served up the win by soundly beating Haverford's Katherine Wettick and Karen Lavi 8-1 at first. At second, Hopkins freshman Yasmine Elamire and sophomore Ellen Berlinghof improved to 8-4 overall with an 8-1 win over Meaghan Ryan and Katherine Drooyan. The Fords' only point during the entire match came at the third round of doubles, when Fumiko Shogase and Jaclyn Porter squeaked by sophomore Amanda Schubert and freshman Abby Dwyer 8-6. This proved to be the only time Haverford was within one point of the Jays.
The Jays weren't about to let the Haverford girls have any attempt at a comeback in the match. Hopkins continued by sweeping all six singles matches straight to win the entire match 8-1. Matava improved her personal record to 16-3 with one of the wins, and Bhamidipati won at second for her sixth straight. At third, Dwyer remained unbeaten at 13-0 on the season while dropping just one game in beating Lavi, and Elamir kept the tennis ball rolling when she beat Shogase at fourth for her ninth straight win. Schubert continued the sweep, winning 6-2 at fifth over Porter for her ninth win of the season. And finishing solidly for the Jays at sixth, Berlinghof improved to 11-3 on the season, beating Drooyan while dropping only one game.
Senior Stephanie Carr was asked about the match against Haverford, and she had much to say about the great success so far. "The team has been working extremely hard all year long. In the off-season [fall] we practiced two hours, at least five days a week and we have continued to do so in the spring," she said. "When it rains we do team training in the gym that involves some jogging, sprinting, lifting and abs. Many of us also do our own training on our own time as well." Dedication to working hard is definitely what this squad is displaying so far this year.
When Hopkins headed to Pittsburgh on Sunday, April 6, expectations were high and adrenaline was pumping from the evening before. Ranked 18th in the polls, the Jays knew what they had to do: Work as a team, take every match individually and remain positive. Despite high hopes, the Lady Tartans ended up pulling out a win with a score of 7-2, resulting in them being ranked eighth in the polls.
Carnegie Mellon took an early lead with 3-0. The Jays made the Tartans earn every victory. Matava and Bhamidipati once again teamed up together for the first, but they lost to Amy Staloch and Jennifer Chui 8-2. Sophomore Ellen Berlinghof and freshman Yasmine Elamir lost 8-4 to Kelly Hart and Ashley Herrick at second, and at third, junior Debbie Blass and freshman Julia Guarino lost 8-2 to Alisa Liebowitz and Danielle Rosenfeld.
The Blue Jays' two points in the match came at second and fourth singles. Bhamidipati won in straight sets at second, beating Chui for her 35th career win. That win now ties her for fourth in program history in career singles wins. Elamir then dropped just two games to win her 10th straight at fourth, beating Liebowitz.
The team is not at all disappointed in the loss. As the only senior on the squad, Carr is very enthusiastic with what the team is taking from the small set-back. "I think our team spirit and devotion has contributed to our success," she said. "Although we are ranked 19th in the nation, our goal is not to just maintain that position. We would like to win nationals this year and practicing hard to reach that goal."
After the Jays' match against Washington (10-2) on April 8, they travel to Bryn Mawr (1-11).
"The match against Washington may prove to be a tough one. They have definitely given us a run for our money in the past. We want to focus a bit on our doubles," Carr said. "To prepare for the Washington match, Coach Willenborg spent all practice yesterday working on doubles. Also, to make the doubles teams stronger and closer, he has doubles partners warm up together on match days. Coach wants the doubles teams to stay aggressive and focused for the Washington match."
Staying aggressive and focused is exactly what this team is all about. However, the girls are not all business all the time. "Our team is really close," Carr said. "We often have team dinners, and when there is a birthday, somebody volunteers to bring cupcakes to practice." Here's to wishing for victory cupcakes on Sunday.
The match at Bryn Mawr takes place at 12 p.m., this Saturday, April 12.
