It was a busy weekend for the UR women’s tennis team, who competed in the St. Lawrence University Canton Classic tournament on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21.
The tournament also included St. Lawrence, Hamilton College, and SUNY Geneseo. The matches were played under the unique “hidden dual” format, where eight singles and four doubles matches were played in each matchup, ensuring everyone had the opportunity for several matches over the course of the weekend.
While a number of UR players came away with successful showings, junior Molly Goodman enjoyed the best weekend of any ’Jacket, winning the flight at fourth singles with her 3-0 record and giving UR its only flight win of the weekend.
Goodman’s first triumph came against Dexuan Yuan of Geneseo, with whom she split the first two sets before winning 10-7 in the match tiebreak. The junior later topped St. Lawrence’s Emily Wyman 6-3 and won 7-5 to secure UR’s only victory against the host team. To complete her perfect weekend, Goodman easily defeated Hamilton’s Liz Detwiler 8-2 in a match that was shortened due to rain.
Along with the strong showing from Goodman at the fourth singles spot, a number of other ’Jackets put forth solid performances. Freshman Alex Wolkoff notched a pair of singles wins in the seventh flight along with doubles victories over Hamilton and Geneseo with her partner, sophomore Lauren Zickar.
With every team member getting the opportunity to play multiple matches during the two-day tournament, there is no question that it was a productive weekend for head coach Matt Nielsen’s squad. With some major tournaments still left on the schedule for the team this fall, gaining match experience was exactly what the players needed before moving forward.
Furthermore, with both St. Lawrence and SUNY Geneseo on the ’Jackets’ spring schedule, getting a preview of what to expect from both teams could prove to be very valuable when UR faces them again in April.
Up next for UR will be one of their biggest tournaments of the fall, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships. The tournament will take place at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY starting on Saturday, Sept. 27. The tournament will feature players from Division III teams in the Northeast ITA region, which includes New York and New Jersey. The stakes will be very high for those competing, with a trip to the ITA Small College National Championships on the line for the winners in both the singles and doubles draws.
While the competition will undoubtedly be tough, with a weekend of tournament play under their belts, the’ Jackets should be more than ready for the challenge.
Shapiro is a member of
the class of 2015.
