The Hopkins women’s tennis team started their season with a bang, winning the ITA team indoor National Championship in Greencastle, Ind. This led to a #1 ranking in the women’s tennis realm and accompanying expectations. The Lady Jays travelled down to San Antonio, Texas, for their first outdoors match, where they faced off against Trinity (TX) University. They handled the #14 team in the nation with ease, winning the team matchup by a score of 9-0.
Junior Hailey Hogan and sophomore Elaine Baik had no trouble in their early matchup, handling their opponent 8-1. Next up for the Lady Jays was the pair of junior Abby Clark and sophomore Stephanie Rettig, and again this duo had no problem with their counterparts from Trinity, defeating them 8-2.
The final pairing of doubles partners for Hopkins was freshman Sydney Lehman and sophomore Shannon Herndon. Similar to their doubles teammates, they were able to finish the deal for doubles play with an 8-3 win.
Singles proved to be more of the same for the squad, as Trinity struggled to keep the match competitive. At third singles, Lehman blanked her opponent, winning 6-0, 6-0. Herndon earned her victory in two sets as well, but in more dramatic fashion at 6-2, 7-6. Finally, number one singles player Hogan trounced her opponent, winning 6-1, 6-1. Clark, Rettig, and sophomore Shannon Libaw each won at fourth, fifth, and sixth singles.
After a strong showing in the land of the Alamo, the ladies ventured east to Atlanta, GA to face two high-powered teams. First up was #2 ranked Amherst, where the #1 Jays were served a strong challenge and an eventual tough loss at the hands of the Jeffs, 5-4.
In the doubles matchups, the Jeffs took two of the three matches, with the Clark-Rettig pair pulling out a narrow victory for the Lady Jays, 9-8, 7-5. After losing the second and fifth singles matchups, the Jays were down three points to the Jeffs. Lehman helped pull the Jays back into the game though, banging out a 6-1, 6-1 victory at fourth singles.
Rettig also handily defeated her opponent at second singles, winning 6-3, 6-2 to bring the Lady Jays witin one point of the Jeffs. This was short-lived though, as #1 Hogan could not muster a victory against the Jeffs’ #1 Jordan Brewer, as she fell 6-0, 6-3. Herndon won her #3 singles matchup for Hopkins to finish the day.
Following the Jays' first loss at the hands of Amherst, the competition did not ease up. Next up for the Lady Jays was the Eagles of Emory. Emory, ranked #4 in the nation, generated an impressive showing against Hopkins, winning the team match 6-3.
Emory handled the doubles court, beating the teams of Herndon-Lehman and Hogan-Baik in a combined 16-10. However, Clark and Rettig were able to produce a gutsy 9-7 win from their doubles match. As #1 singles player, Hailey Hogan had the distinct honor of facing off against the 2012 NCAA singles champion, Gabrielle Clark. Hogan lost the battle, as Clark won 6-0, 6-1. Hopkins recorded two wins in singles, at fourth and sixth, courtesy of Lehman and Rettig. Lehman won her matchup 7-5, 6-3, while Rettig won 6-3, 6-2.
After a challenging beginning to the season, freshman Sydney Lehman, who was named Centennial Conference Player of the Week on March 12, only had positive things to say with the season still young.
“After seeing the way we performed this past trip, it is clear that we are definitely becoming more accustomed to playing big teams on bigger stages," Lehman said. "Gaining that experience and finding a comfort zone for the future will be key to our success, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. After seeing what our team is capable of early this season, it is very exciting to see what the future holds."
Looking to transfer the lessons of the young season to conference play, the Lady Jays return to action March 27 against conference rival Dickinson, followed by a match against Bryn Mawr on March 31.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.