In another dominating performance, the Hopkins women’s tennis team swept the Muhlenberg College Mules 9-0 on Saturday after making the drive up to Allentown, Pa. The sixth-ranked Lady Jays have continued on their impressive tear, bringing their overall season record to 14-2 while remaining undefeated in the Centennial Conference, 8-0. The win was the ninth in a row for Hopkins, an impressive stretch through the heart of their demanding schedule.
“A huge key to our success this year has been our ability to remain consistent and close out big matches,” said freshman Staley Smith. “We haven’t cracked under pressure and have executed our game plan every single match.”
Meanwhile, the Mules fell to 5-7 overall and 5-4 in the Centennial Conference. Hopkins has continued to roll throughout the course of this dominant stretch, with each win being more exciting than the previous victory. The match began with three matchups in doubles play.
The Lady Jays made an early statement by getting a necessary victory at second doubles. The combination of senior Andrea Berlingof and freshman Olivia Kasten proved to be too much to handle for challengers Jennifer Goldberg and Sharen Resnikoff as they rolled 8-0.
The initial victory provided momentum for the first ranked doubles team of sophomores Shannon Herndon and Kaitlin Pfisterer in their match. They were on and off the court in a flash, making quick disposal of Nina Saunders and Emily Szulman. The duo only lost one game in the process and finished out the match winning five straight games in an 8-1 victory, giving the Blue Jays an early 2-0 advantage.
Doubles play closed with a much closer match than the previous two.
Junior Lauren Fields and senior Ariel Severall continuously traded points with opponents Amanda von Taube and Gabriela Contino, unable to gain a big advantage. However, the two Lady Jays were able to win a critical break point to take a two game advantage and hold on to win 8-6, completing a 3-0 sweep in doubles match play.
Kasten commented on how doubles has been a challenge for the team.
“We’ve had some chemistry issues early in the season, but as this weekends match has proven, we’ve started to come together and find the right combinations for our doubles pairs. We’ve been a lot more consistent over this winning streak.”
Taking the three-point advantage into singles match play, Hopkins continued to steamroll and surge through the competition. They picked up their fourth point when sophomore Shannon Libaw not only won in straight sets, but also didn’t drop a single game in the process, sweeping Szulman at second singles, 6-0, 6-0. The match lasted a brief 30 minutes. Pfisterer nearly replicated Libaw’s performance in her third singles match against Goldberg, only dropping a single game in her straight sets win, 6-1, 6-0.
The win clinched the victory for Hopkins and marked their ninth straight victory overall and eighth victory in conference play, making them the only undefeated team left in the conference.
The victories continued to pile up as Severall claimed the sixth point for Hopkins in her straight sets victory over Resnikoff at fourth singles. Her win marked the 15th game in a row that the Lady Jays had claimed since their 9-0 sweep of McDaniel College last weekend. Berlinghof looked excellent in her match at first singles, defeating Sanders 6-4, 6-2.
The senior's excellent leadership for the Lady Jays has been an integral component to the team’s success throughout the winning streak. Her play has been speaking for itself as she has been sensational in both singles and doubles play.
Kasten brought the Jays one point away from completing the sweep of the Mules, as she took down von Taube 6-0, 6-3. Finally, freshman Staley Smith completed a successful afternoon of tennis with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Contino, achieving the sweep and bringing a close to another convincing victory in conference play.
The Lady Jays looked extremely confident on Saturday and the way they played showed it. This recent win streak makes them the number one contender and favorites in Centennial Conference playoffs and the team to beat in the postseason. Smith commented on postseason aspirations and goals moving forward.
“Obviously, it’s always our goal to win the Centennial Conference as we’ve done successfully over the past eight years. However, the real challenge lies in getting deep into the NCAA championships. One of our goals as a team is to make it further than we did the year before. The competition will be the best we face all year and it’s going to take a lot of extra time at practice and practice matches to be prepared for the tournament in May.”
Kasten echoed similar goals for the postseason.
“I think putting in our best practices of the season is crucial in order to make it to the top eight. We need to finalize our doubles pairs and consistently put in our best effort and hopefully it will lead to success in the CC championships and the NCAAs.”
The Jays look to keep the tremendous streak alive when they take on fellow conference rival Gettysburg this upcoming Thursday. With only a couple of weeks left in the season, the Lady Jays will look to carry their momentum into the postseason as they continue to dominate, outwork and outplay all teams who stand in their way.
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