The Hopkins women’s tennis team enjoyed a successful weekend in their games against Ursinus and Haverford. Winning both matches, Hopkins brought their record up to 10-2. The squad is undefeated (5-0) in the Centennial Conference.
The women began the weekend on Saturday, winning in doubles and taking an early lead. Freshman Sydney Lehman and sophomore Kaitlyn Pfisterer were the first to defeat Ursinus, 8-1.
When asked about the match, Lehman said, “It was a pretty short match. We played well, and we’ve been working hard to keep up our record.”
Senior Ariel Several and sophomore Shannon Libaw also won by the same score of eight to one, putting Hopkins’s record at 2-0 in the match.
When asked about the win, Libaw said, “It was a great feeling to win this weekend and it definitely gives us confidence to finish out our last conference matches of the season.”
Junior Lauren Fields and freshman Olivia Kasten also won their doubles match, finishing with a score of 8-3.
In addition, the Lady Jays claimed each of the six singles matches in straight sets to close out the day. Several earned her 35th career win, putting her at a tie for ninth place in school history for career singles wins.
Several said, “Winning our fifth straight conference match felt great. The team has been working really hard and it's great to see it pay off. We are definitely at an advantage with such a talented team and I look forward to continuing to dominate the rest of the season into NCAA's."
On Sunday, the Lady Jays hosted Haverford in an exciting matchup. Both teams were undefeated, so it was anticipated to be a ferocious competition.
Although Haverford was ranked above Hopkins, the Jays beat Haverford seven to two, making Hopkins the only undefeated team in the Centennial Conference.
In singles play, Hopkins swept five out of six matches in straight sets. Although Hopkins lost the first game, junior Abby Clark and senior Andrea Berlinghof defeated their competitors at second and third. At fourth, Several came back to win another singles match. This put her record of career singles wins at 36, moving her into ninth place in school history.
Freshman Kara McDonough also came through for the Jays. She did not lose a game, defeating the competitor from Haverford 6-0 in both sets of her singles match.
When asked about the win, McDonough said, “Sunday was an exciting win against Haverford, as they are one of the best teams in our conference. The doubles matches were particularly close. I'm really looking forward to our upcoming matches over the next few weeks.”
In doubles play, Berlinghof and Kasten won the first match 8-4.
When asked about the weekend, Kasten said, “We were able to keep the momentum going this weekend. Everyone stayed focused at Ursinus and we made it a clean sweep. Haverford proved a little tougher, but we still managed to snatch a win from a team who was just as hungry as we were. Those wins were a great team effort and I was happy to be able to play a role in them."
Fields and McDonough also won their doubles match 8-4 against Haverford.
Fields said, “I am so proud of how well our team has done so far this season; from winning Indoor Nationals to winning our fifth straight conference match this past weekend. The team has been working especially hard on continuing to improve our doubles for our upcoming conference championships and the NCAAs later in May.”
Hopkins plays again on Sat. April 13 as the women travel to take on Washington College on the Eastern Shore.
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