A few days of practice would not normally be sufficient preparation for match play, but this was what the women’s tennis team had to deal with in opening the season. Last Thursday, the Yellowjackets crushed the Golden Eagles of SUNY Brockport, 7-2, just two days after practice had begun.
The ‘Jackets had wins at first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth singles and at first and third doubles. At first singles, junior Colleen Cross defeated Brockport’s Ashley Balling quite easily, winning 6-0, 6-2. Junior Alexa Perry also scored a win for UR at third singles, defeating Erin McLaughlin of Brockport, 6-3, 6-4.
Despite losing the first set to Brockport’s Katie Keller, 3-6, sophomore Mel Beckmann came back to win the second set 6-4, and won the fourth singles match in a third set tie-breaker, 10-6.
Most impressive were the wins secured by UR freshmen Megan Mears and Victoria Wells at fifth and sixth singles, respectively. Mears crushed Angie Bermudez of Brockport, not even giving up a single game with a final score of 6-0, 6-0. At number six, Wells had a huge win as well, defeating Brockport’s Laura Rector 6-0, 6-1.
Cross and Perry teamed together at first doubles to defeat Kayla Mizgala and Chelsea Fletcher of Brockport, 8-1. The star freshman duo of Mears and Wells took the win for UR at third doubles, defeating Brockport’s Elsie Williams and Holly Acito, 8-2.
Losses for the Yellowjackets occurred at both second singles and second doubles. Sophomore Sanjana Prabhakar was defeated by Mizgala in a close match, 6-4, 7-5. At second doubles, Prabhakar and Beckmann lost to McLaughlin and Balling of Brockport, 8-2.
The team members are thrilled with the outcome of the match and the performance of the freshmen in their first collegiate competition.
“Brockport was a great season starter for us,” Beckmann said. “The freshmen players were especially impressive, kicking off their first college match with such strong wins across the board. The team is shaping up very well and I’m looking forward to an amazing season.”
Cross agreed with Beckmann, “The freshmen, Vicky and Megan, were impressive in their first college matches, winning both their singles matches and doubles match easily,” Cross said. “We have a great group of new players who are ready to step up and play.”
Although the main season for the tennis team is the spring, there are several tournaments and one single-opponent match left for the fall. With a team that has been constantly improving, this season should be a successful one.
“I look forward to seeing what we can do this year,” Cross said. We will definitely be very competitive in our conference and I’m excited to see how much we can improve as a team from last season.”
Select members of the tennis team will compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association tournament on Friday, Sept. 22 at William Smith College.
Sall can be reached atdsall@campustimes.org.
