Despite valiant efforts, the UR women’s tennis team was edged twice this past weekend, losing to the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds, 5-4, on Saturday and to the St. Lawrence University Saints, 3-6, on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the ‘Jackets redeemed themselves by notching a 7-2 win against the SUNY Geneseo’s Blue Knights.
Senior Colleen Cross and freshman Lia Weiner both won all of three matches. Weiner – playing at No.1 singles – dominated her Skidmore opponent en route to a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Saturday. On Sunday, Weiner scored the win against St. Lawrence, outlasting her opponent, 6-4, 6-0.
Cross has been on somewhat of a hot streak as of late. The senior – playing at No. 3 singles against Skidmore and Geneseo and at No. 4 versus St. Lawrence – is on a six-game winning streak. On Saturday, she downed her Thoroughbred opponent, 6-3, 6-3. Against Skidmore, Cross fought back after losing the first set, 1-6, to take the match, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. Cross completed the week’s sweep with a win on Tuesday against Geneseo.
Senior Alexa Perry, in contrast, had a rough week in singles. At the No. 2 spot, Perry lost matches to Skidmore, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0, and St. Lawrence, 6-0, 6-2, over the weekend. She had one of the two losses against Geneseo on Tuesday.
Perry was also part of a successful No. 1 doubles team this weekend. Perry, along with partner Weiner, took down Skidmore, 9-8, on Saturday, then turned around and beat St. Lawrence, 8-2, on Sunday. The team also grabbed a win against Geneseo on Tuesday.
Freshman Elana Polivy played in one singles match this past week, losing at No. 3 singles to her St. Lawrence opponent, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
The freshman was also part of a No. 2 doubles team – along with Cross – that won two of its three matches. The only game the duo dropped was a 8-0 loss to St. Lawrence.
At No. 4 singles, freshman Diane Samuels dropped the two weekend games before winning at Geneseo on Tuesday. Samuels lost to her Saint opponent, 6-2, 6-3, and then followed it up with a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Skidmore.
Playing at No. 5 singles on Sunday and Tuesday, junior Kristen Shaw lost both games. On Sunday, Shaw lost, 6-0, 6-1, to her Thoroughbred opponent. At No. 6 singles, freshman Maria Janda split games over the weekend and then grabbed a victory over the Knights on Tuesday. Janda won, 6-3, 6-3, on Saturday, and then turned around and lost, 6-4, 6-1, on Sunday to her St. Lawrence opponent.
The No. 3 doubles team of Samuels and freshman Nisha Javeri dropped games over the weekend and then came away with a victory against Geneseo. Against Skidmore, the duo lost, 8-2, and then on Sunday, the team dropped the set to its St. Lawrence opponent, 8-1.
UR’s next match is this Saturday, when the ‘Jackets take on SUNY Brockport at 4 p.m. at home. UR’s record dropped to 6-6 with the two weekend losses.
On April 18-20, the ‘Jackets head to St. Louis, Mo. for the University Athletic Association Championships, hosted by Washington University in St. Louis. Last year, the ‘Jackets placed seventh out of eight teams at the Championships and will look to improve on that this year. UR’s only UAA competition this spring, Brandeis University, defeated the ‘Jackets, 8-1, two weeks ago on March 29.
NCAA Championships will be held at Flushing Meadows, N.Y. on May 2-5 and May 13.
Hilfinger is a member ofthe class of 2010.
