Tennis Prepares For SUNYAC Tournament

The tennis team competed on the road in the 2015 Connecticut College Tournament in which they played against the University of Hartford, Trinity (Conn.) Connecticut, Holy Cross and host Connecticut College.

In doubles action, the Hawk duo of third-year Olivia Ammirati and fourth-year co-Captain Laura Tierney won their flight, defeating the University of Hartford’s second-year Meredith Heitland and fourth-year Hannah Goldman on Oct. 4.

“We’ve improved so much, the doubles teams have really come a long way, they’re getting better and better,” Hawks Head Coach Rob Bruley said.

Tierney said she was pleased with the team’s performance this weekend.

“This weekend my team did awesome,” she said. “We seem to perform really well in tournaments, especially against high level teams. We always show these teams they are no better than us, and that’s what I love most.”

The following day, the duo of Ammirati and Tierney were announced as the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week after winning the flight three doubles bracket besting the tandem from Div. I College of the Holy Cross, 8-6, before defeating their opponents from Div. I University of Hartford, 8-3.

In singles action, Hawks second-year Carol Tyson defeated fourth-year Charlotte Marcoux of Connecticut College to win at flight four 9-7. Tierney also defeated second-year Emily Sneddon of the University of Hartford 9-8.

Tyson also received a SUNYAC Player of the Week title in recognition of her efforts at this tournament. She is currently 7-2 overall in singles play.

The Hawks will next play in the 2015 SUNYAC Tournament beginning Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 11. New Paltz is the top-seeded team in the SUNYAC East and will first take on the No. 4 SUNYAC West seed SUNY Fredonia in the quarterfinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

“This week we will play a lot of tennis, do some drills that will work on some of our weaknesses in hopes it will pay off this weekend,” Hawks fourth-year co-Captain Allie Starke said. “Also just playing each other to get into the match-ready mode. We will also need to stay hydrated, eat well and be well-rested. Being healthy is just as important as practicing and being tennis ready for the SUNYAC Tournament.”

Bruley said that the competition at the Connecticut Tournament has helped them prepare for the SUNYAC Tournament immensely.

“Geneseo is an extremely strong team this year, probably the strongest team they’ve ever put together,” he said. “We know what we’re going up against and this was one of my main reasons for scheduling and being invited to the Connecticut Tournament. To prepare us for basically this one match against Geneseo; this competition was just as good as, if not a little bit better than, what we’re going to see.”

On Friday, Oct. 2, the Hawks nonconference home match against Mount Saint Mary was postponed indefinitely due to inclement weather. No make-up date has been announced at this time.

Whether or not the Hawks prevail at next weekend’s SUNYAC Tournament, Bruley said he is proud of his team.

“They will give it everything they’ve got and be at 100 percent with the effort,” he said. “If that means that we win, that’s great. If not, then at least we walk off the court with our heads held high knowing we gave it everything we’ve got.”