Aaron Schaffer, Photo Editor
Taking the court for only the second time since October, the UR women’s tennis team handily defeated intrastate foe Ithaca College 7-2 on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Robert Goergen Athletic Center. The win was the ’Jackets’ first since the fall and particularly impressive considering the last-minute lineup changes the team faced, as senior captain Frances Tseng was ill and unable to play.
“It was a total team effort in our win,” said coach Matt Nielsen.
In doubles action, sophomores Cara Genbauffe and Rachel Suresky teamed up at the number-one position, despite limited experience as a pair. Suresky was filling in for Tseng, who normally plays first singles with Genbauffe. What the sophomore duo lacked in experience, they made up for with heart and grit, fighting hard and making nothing easy for their opponents. Their efforts proved to be not enough, however, as they fell 8-6 to Carly Siegel and Allison Young. Second doubles featured freshmen Molly Goodman and Christine Ho, a team that is improving with every match they play. They dispatched their opponents 8-2 in what was their first win as a pair. Rochester also won 8-2 at third doubles, with junior Janice Zhao and senior Hayley Brower cruising throughout.
Singles action went smoothly for the ’Jackets as well, taking five of the six matches.
“It was great to see [Goodman], [Zhao], and [Brower] win both their singles and doubles matches,” Nielsen said.
The trio of double winners on the day played at singles positions four, five, and six, respectively. All three won in straight sets. At the top of the lineup, Genbauffe bounced back from her tight doubles loss by dominating Allison Young 6-0, 3-0, who was forced to retire from the match. Second singles featured the closest singles match of the day, as Rachel Suresky split the first two sets against Ithaca’s Carly Siegel. Suresky was impressive in the deciding set, however, playing more aggressively and ending points quickly, eventually rolling to a win by the final score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. At third singles, Ho fell 6-4, 6-3 to Laurel Salladay in a tough match for the freshman, who struggled to find her rhythm.
“This win gives us a lot of great confidence heading into our spring break trip to California next week,” Nielsen said.
The ‘Jackets will next see action against Connecticut College in Pasadena, Cali. on Monday, March 11 at 12 p.m., local time.
Shapiro is a member of the class of 2016.
