The women’s tennis team improved to 7-6 this weekend after defeating No. 13 St. Lawrence University 5-4 on Sunday. The win came just one day after losing 7-2 to Skidmore College.
The Skidmore Thoroughbreds, who are ranked No. 18 in the Northeast, has a clear edge against the unranked Yellowjackets.
Freshman Melinda Beckmann was the sole singles winner at No. 6 singles, playing in a third set thriller. Beckmann and Thoroughbred Kyra Travis exchanged great shots in the first two sets, splitting the wins between the two. Beckmann got the best of Travis in the third set, eventually winning with the final score of 4-6, 7-5, 10-6.
The second UR win came from No. 1 doubles. Sophomores Colleen Cross and Alexa Perry handily defeated their opponents, 8-4.
The Yellowjackets knew that after such a loss to Skidmore, facing St. Lawrence, a team with a record of 14-3, would be no easy task, but they were ready to bring the heat.
“We lost very closely to SLU last year, but this year’s team is much stronger, so we really thought we could take the win,” sophomore Colleen Cross said.
Indeed, the Yellowjackets won, playing one of their most exciting matches yet. To snag the win, UR won two of three doubles matches and three of six singles events.
At No. 2 doubles, senior and co-captain Tessa Baker and freshman Jillian Grieshaber won a close match against SLU’s Teresa Rodriguez and Liz Karam, defeating them 9-7.
The ‘Jackets freshmen duo, Beckmann and Sanjana Prabhakar, defeated Meg Terrien and Candice Vallejos of SLU, 8-4 at No. 3 doubles. After a doubles win the previous day against Skidmore, Cross and Perry defeated SLU’s Anne Moulin and Kirsten Lannon, 3-8 at No. 1 doubles.
Singles victories were claimed at first, fourth and sixth singles. At No. 1 singles, Cross defeated Moulin, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 2, Prabhakar lost to Lannon, 6-7, 3-6. Perry lost a close match at No. 3, falling to SLU’s Karam 6-3, 4-6, 0-6. At No. 4 singles, senior and co-captain Jaymi Della came back from a first set loss of 6-0, to defeat SLU’s Terrien 6-3, 6-1. Grieshaber lost to SLU’s Rodriguez at No. 5 singles, 1-6, 2-6.
When Beckmann walked on the court to play the final match of the day, the overall score was tied at 4-4. Yet Beckmann came out with confidence and stole the win for the Yellowjackets, defeating Vallejos 6-1, 6-4.
The Yellowjackets were thrilled about their win over St. Lawrence.
“This was a really exciting win for us,” Della said. “Last year when we played SLU it also came down to the last match, so it was great to finally come out on top.”
Baker agrees. “SLU had previously beat Skidmore and was in the finals of the Liberty League Championship in the fall, so it’s awesome that we beat them,” she said.
Indeed, it appears that UR has become a force to be reckoned with.
“We know that we’re up against tough teams [in our next couple of matches], but we know that we’re right up there with them, and are ready for the competition,” Baker said.
The women’s tennis team will next play Hamilton College on Thursday, April 13.
Sall can be reached at dsall@campustimes.org.
