The SUNY New Paltz women’s tennis team continued their hot streak, sweeping the competition in their last three games against SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Fredonia and The College at Brockport.
“We’ve had some tough matches this season, and the pressure is always on because we’re one of the top teams,” said Hawks head coach Rob Bruley. “The girls are digging deep and not panicking, and it shows by how well they’re doing on the court.”
The Hawks avenged their 2017 loss to the rival Geneseo Knights on Friday, Oct. 5. New Paltz handed Geneseo their first loss of the season with a stunning 9-0 victory, putting them in a prime position for the top spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament. This season also marks the first time since 2012 that the Hawks have gone undefeated throughout the SUNYAC schedule.
The morning against the Knights began with three consecutive doubles victories for the Hawks. The second-year squad, Emma Messenger and Courtney Koran, defeated the Knights’ first-year duo, Olga Shvetsova and Natalia Krol, 8-1.
New Paltz also cleaned up the competition in singles, winning each of their matches. Koran and fourth-year Lindsay Haley both crushed their opponents third-year Sam Montague and first-year Grace Klomp 6-0, 6-0, respectively.
The next day, the Hawks dealt another crushing victory against the Fredonia Blue Devils, clinching the top seed in the upcoming SUNYAC tournament. Snagging another 9-0 victory, New Paltz only dropped 16 points throughout the match.
First-year’s Trinity Chow Laura Koob took a doubles win, 8-1, over third-year Anna Chiacchia and fourth-year Olivia Miller. Messenger and Koran then went to win their third doubles match against first-year Jane Chiacchia and second-year Taylor Marelli, 8-3.
In singles Koob defeated Miler 6-2, 6-2, while third-year Victoria Zezula snatched a 6-4, 6-0 victory against second-year Sarah Bunk in third singles. Second-year Jenna Grandville then defeated first-year Mikayla Johnson 6-2, 6-2.
Finishing off the trio of matches, the Hawks earned their fourth consecutive 9-0 victory against The College at Brockport on Sunday, Oct. 7.
The Hawks had a strong start in the competition, with Chow and Koob executing a flawless 8-0 victory in doubles against Brockport’s first-year Heather Phillips and fourth-year Zoe Sharp. First-year Alex Chimenti and second-year Ava Sweeney then took down second-year duo Jennifer Kiely and Phoebe Morse, 8-1.
Chow and Koob excelled once again for the Hawks, earning 6-0, 6-0 wins against fourth-year Autumne Venturino and Philips in singles, respectively. Additionally, Koran took on Sharp and grabbed a solid 6-1, 6-1 win.
With the regular season all wrapped up, New Paltz now sets their sights on the upcoming SUNYAC tournament where they hope to take home the win. Playoffs begin on Oct. 13 at the Binghamton Racquet Club against No. 4 seed Fredonia State. The winner will then face either SUNY Oneonta or SUNY Geneseo on Sunday, Oct. 14.
“We don’t care what team we’re up against. We just want to play,” Chow said. “ We’ve been looking forward to [the SUNYAC tournament] all year and it’s our last games, so we want to make it count.”
