After an electrifying stretch to begin the season, the Hopkins women’s tennis team continues to stomp all over their opponents as the Lady Jays have won five matches over the past six days to maintain their undefeated record. They are undoubtedly the favorite to win the Centennial Conference at this point in the season and hold the top rank in Division III tennis. While a seven game winning streak is impressive, the Jays outdid themselves as they brought their season record to 11-0 while maintaining first place in Centennial Conference play with a 3-0 record.
The first match of the weekend was against Oberlin College. The Lady Jays travelled to Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va. along with a few other Division III teams to compete in the Blue-Grey Invitational, in which each team played against a different team than the day before. The first matchup for the Jays proved to be an easy task, as the team breezed past Oberlin by a final score of 8-1. In the process of the swift victory, the Lady Jays swept all of the doubles matches while taking five of six in the singles bracket to extend their season-opening winning streak to seven. The three doubles teams defeated the Oberlin duos by scores of 8-6 at number one, 8-5 at number two and 8-0 at number three, respectively. In addition, the Lady Jays took straight-set victories at first, second, third, fourth and sixth singles. The victory solidified an excellent start of the weekend at Mary Washington.
However, the Lady Jays had little time to celebrate their victory as they returned to the courts the next afternoon to take on UC Santa Cruz. The match proved to be an even quicker dominant performance than the day before as the Lady Jays trounced Santa Cruz, 9-0. The team got off to an impressive start in doubles play where all three teams swept their opponents again. At first doubles, junior Elaine Baik and freshman Mikey Barthelmass faced the toughest match of the draw as they battled their way to an 8-6 victory. Junior Shannon Herndon and freshman Amanda Austi paced themselves to an 8-3 victory at second doubles before senior Hailey Hogan and sophomore Olivia Kasten finished the sweep of the doubles as they crushed their opponents 8-1 at third doubles.
The Lady Jays never missed a beat as they carried their momentum in the singles bracket, completing the sweep of Santa Cruz and winning five of the six singles matches in straight sets. Austi was dominant in her performance at first singles as she defeated her opponent 6-4, 6-2. Following up this match was Hogan who came from behind to win her match at second singles by a final score of 1-6, 6-4, 10-7. The rest of the singles matches allowed the Lady Jays to put on a talent display as Baik, Herndon, freshman Jody Law and senior Abby Clark all swept their opponents in straight sets at third, fourth, fifth and sixth singles, respectively. The win brought the Lady Jays streak to nine in a row, tying the Hopkins program record set back in 2008.
In an attempt to make Hopkins tennis history, the Lady Jays headed into their second match of the day against 26th-ranked Case Western, determined and eager to grab another crucial victory. The beginning of the match proved to be the toughest test that Hopkins would face all weekend. At the end of doubles play, Hopkins took two of three matches from the Spartans. Baik and Barthelmass claimed their third straight victory as a pairing at first doubles after defeating their opponents 8-4. Hogan and Herndon paired together to crush the Spartans at second doubles by a final score of 8-3. However, Case Western got their first point of the match at third doubles when Taylor Sweeney and Michelle Djohan narrowly squeezed by the Hopkins duo of Clark and Kasten by a final score of 8-6.
The Lady Jays carried the 2-1 advantage into the beginning of singles match play. The team refused to let the Spartans gain any sort of leverage with their perfect record on the line. Austi was sensational at first singles for the third match in a row and eventually clinched the victory for the Lady Jays by defeating her opponent in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. Hogan and Baik remained unbeaten at second and third respectively as the two players dropped a combine four games en route to well-deserved victories. Herndon was unable to handle her opponent as she fell in straight sets 2-6, 4-6 to give the Spartans their second point of the match. However, Law swept her opponent at fifth singles while Clark simply crushed her opponent, only dropping three games the entire match in her win at sixth doubles. The win brought the Lady Jays streak to nine in a row, tying the Hopkins program record set back in 2008. The weekend was a very successful one for Hopkins as they cruised to three wins at Mary Washington to keep their unbeaten streak alive.
After returning home from Virginia, the Lady Jays had just two days to prepare for their next opponent, a conference opponent in the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats. The Lady Jays made the drive to Lancaster, Pa. to face off against one of their rival conference opponents in the hopes of setting a new Hopkins tennis program record.
They accomplished that and more.
The Lady Jays brought their winning streak to 10, eclipsing the previous record set in 2008 in a domineering 9-0 victory over Franklin and Marshall. The victory kept Hopkins undefeated on the year and in conference play while sending the Diplomats to their fourth loss of the season. Juniors Kaitlin Pfisterer and Macie Wilkens slipped by their opponents at first doubles in an 8-6 victory while freshmen Anna Kankanala and Amanda Soo Ping Chow defeated their opponents by a score of 8-5 at second doubles. Sophomore Kara McDonough and freshman Savannah de Montesquiou finished off the doubles sweep in an 8-0 win at third doubles.
Four of six players won their singles matches in straight sets against the Diplomats. Kankanala, Pfisterer, Montesquiou and McDonough were victorious at first, second, fourth and sixth singles respectively while Wilkins and Soo Ping Chow won their matches in third-set tiebreakers at third and fifth singles. The victory gave the Lady Jays an overall record of 10-0 on the season as they continued to roll through their opponents.
Hopkins will look to extend their historic winning streak when they take on Emory and Ursinus on April 5. Half of the team will travel to Atlanta, Ga. while other members will remain in Baltimore to take on the Bears in another conference rivalry matchup. The women’s tennis team is certainly making history as they continue to produce highlight-reel victories against some of the stiffest competition in Division III tennis.
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