Win against Wash. College secures Jays No. 1 seed

The No. 6 Lady Jays racked up a 7-2 victory against Washington College giving the Shorewomen their first Conference loss of the season and their second loss in total. The Jays moved on to 5-0 in Conference play and 9-3 overall.

“Washington College was a tough match. It was at their courts, and they had a lot of people out to support them,” senior Shannon Herndon said. “Our players fought hard though, and despite almost every match being close, we finished with a 7-2 win, which shows the tough battle mentality our team has.

“By beating the second-ranked team in the conference, we have secured our position as number one and have gained a lot of momentum to carry us through the latter part of the season and onto the conference tournament.”

Hopkins swept the doubles matches, gaining an early 3-0 lead. Herndon and sophomore Megumi Chen would begin the day with a 9-7 victory in the first-team round. In the second team, junior Olivia Kasten and freshman Caroline Greydak dominated in an 8-1 victory to give Hopkins the 2-0 lead.

Lastly, freshman Sunaina Vohra and sophomore Anna Kankanla concluded with an 8-4 win.

Kankanla would go on to win her singles match in the fifth spot by a score of 6-3, 6-1. Herndon would also win in just two sets with a 7-6, 6-2 win in the two. In the one spot, Chen would emerge victorious taking the match 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

In the three, Vohra would rebound from a 4-6 loss in the first set to take the next two with scores of 6-0 and 6-3, sealing the team’s victory. Senior Shannon Libaw and Greydak would both fall in close matches that extended to three sets, giving the Shorewomen their only victories on the day.

“We had a good win against Washington College last weekend,” Kankala said, “A lot of us had tough matches, but we were able to pull through and play some solid tennis. As we get closer to the conference tournament and NCAA tournament, I think we are definitely in a position to do well.”

The Jays will next take the trip down to Atlanta to face Emory University this coming weekend. Other members will remain in Baltimore for an inter-conference matchup against Muhlenberg College.