Although the ATP and WTA seasons are winding down, the Colgate men’s and women’s tennis teams have just begun to play. The Colgate men’s tennis team played in the Northeast Intercollegiate Singles Tournament at Brown University from September 15-17. Junior Tyler Deck and first-year John Nogueras were the most successful Raiders in Providence, coming in second place in the no. 3 doubles tournament. The duo crushed URI in the first round, won a tiebreaker to defeat Bucknell and lost only one game to Marist in the semifinals. Unfortunately, Deck and Nogueras lost to UConn 9-8 in the finals.

The Raiders also had some success in the singles tournaments. Senior Chris Innes earned a fifth place finish in the no. 1 singles tournament. Deck, arguably Colgate’s most valuable male player during the three-day contest, reached the semifinals of the no. 4 singles tournament. Other members of the team scored solid fifth and sixth place finishes in their respective brackets.

“We need to improve a little on mental toughness and winning the close matches,” Head Coach Bobby Pennington said. Talent-wise, we can hang with any team.”

The women’s tennis team tied for fifth place out of eight teams at the ECAC Open Championships, which were held this past weekend in Newport, RI. In the four singles tournaments and one doubles tournament that took place during the weekend, the Lady Raiders fizzled early. They lost in the first round of three of the four singles tournaments. In the no. 2 singles tournament, first-year Elise DeRose won her opening match 6-3, 6-0 against Christine Roe of RPI, but DeRose lost her semifinal match to Valeria Chacon of URI in a three-set heartbreaker, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

The lone Colgate doubles team, which consisted of Cameron Thaney and Samantha Inacker, defeated an RPI doubles team convincingly in the first round, 6-1, 6-3. Thaney and Inacker would not have such an easy time in the semifinals, however. Against a URI doubles team, Thaney and Inacker had their willpower tested and strength in a three-hour match. The Colgate duo battled back and forth with URI, but lost 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.

“This should be a really great season,” assistant head coach Rose Ketmayura-Hanson said. “We should definitely be a contender for the Patriot League championship.”

Although the Colgate men’s and women’s teams combined for a 25-30 record in individual matches during their tournaments, the two teams showed plenty of promise for their upcoming matches.