Ranked No. 6 overall in the nation, the Hopkins women’s tennis team swept both Swarthmore College and Bryn Mawr College this past Saturday. The Lady Jays went undefeated in the conference with a 10-0 record, clinching the top seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament for the ninth year in a row.
The Jays began the day on Saturday strong as they claimed all three doubles matches against Swarthmore. Junior Olivia Kasten and freshman Megumi Chen lost only one game before winning the match 8-1. Sophomore Anna Kankanala and senior Macie Wilkins finished their doubles match in the same fashion with a 8-1 win against Swarthmore junior Jackie Lane and sophomore Abby Schmidt. Finishing up doubles play were Hopkins freshman Sunaina Vohra and junior Caroline Greydak. Vohra and Greydak had a little tougher matchup but still gained the win with a score of 8-5.
“I think the best thing we did was play as a team and come together,” Greydak said. “When everyone is lifting each other up — each one of us plays better, and that was the key to our wins this past weekend.”
The Jays then moved to singles play where none of the Jays dropped a single set in all six matches against Swarthmore. Bringing in singles wins for the Jays were Chen, Vohra, Greydak, Kankanala, Wilkins and Kasten.
“I was really solid in all my matches, and I feel like I have been improving in each match I play,” Chen said. “I feel really lucky to be part of such a supportive team in which many of us have become very close. We are always out there supporting each other, and it makes traveling with the team a lot of fun.”
After all matches were completed at Swarthmore, the Jays made the quick trip over to Bryn Mawr to complete their regular season schedule.
In doubles play the Jays grabbed a quick 3-0 lead, only dropping two games. Chen and Kasten needed only eight games to defeat Bryn Mawr junior Melina Koukoutchos and freshman Lizzie Siegle.
“It was great winning 9-0 in both back-to-back matches that we had to play against Swarthmore and then Bryn Mawr,” Chen said.
Kankanala and her partner Wilkins, along with Vohra and her partner Greydak, all finished shortly after, both with a score of 8-1.
In singles play the Jays once again swept all matches in straight sets, never dropping a game. Both Vohra and Kasten shutout their opponents, defeating them with a score of 6-0, 6-0.
“Overall I thought we had a really good Saturday in Pennsylvania,” Kankanala said. “In the Swarthmore match I thought we all played some really good tennis; a lot of the matches were closer than the scores actually showed, and everyone fought hard and stayed focused throughout. We are all excited for the conference tournament this weekend, and I think that we are in a position to do well.”
The Jays will next hit the court next on Saturday, May 2 as they begin the Centennial Conference Tournament.
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