On Thursday, April 5, Colgate women’s tennis had a strong performance but a tough loss against the Army West Point Black Knights. The match, which was played at Drumlins Country Club, ended in a 7-0 sweep for the Black Knights.

Senior captain duo Kelly Klein and Cheyenne Brown brought in the lone win for the Raiders, defeating their Army opponents 6-2 in No. 2 doubles. This win was Klein and Brown’s second of the season, the first being on March 18 when they played against Holy Cross. The doubles point ended up going to Army, who took the wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles spots. 

Klein also played a very strong game in her singles match at No. 4. She took the match into extended rounds in the opening set before dropping the second set, at which point her Army opponent earned the point for the match.

“[It was a] tough loss to a very disciplined, focused, talented Army team. The highlight of the day was Klein and Brown winning 6-2 at the No. 2 doubles match. In singles, we had a lot of 6-3 sets and really battled hard,” head coach Bobby Pennington said.

On Saturday, April 7, the Raiders were on the road again and took down the George Mason Patriots in a 4-2 win at Burke Racquet and Swim Club.

The Raiders had a strong comeback after losing the doubles point and the first singles match. Klein and Brown were tied 4-4 at No. 2 doubles before the Patriots clinched the doubles point.

In singles, Klein at No. 4 and Brown at No. 5 also pushed their matches into a third set before defeating their respective opponents and claiming the points, helping the Raiders achieve their 4-2 win. First-year Ellie Simek at No. 6 singles did not finish her match.

Pennington was very proud of the way the Raiders came out with a dire and took down the Patriots. “We have an amazing, resilient group of young women,” Pennington said. 

On Sunday, April 8, the Raiders traveled to Annapolis, Maryland to square up against Navy in Colgate’s second to last Patriot match of the year. The Raiders had a tough match, falling 7-0 to Navy.

Navy won all three doubles matches to clinch the doubles point in addition to all six singles matches. The Raider’s battled hard, but fell to a Navy full sweep. Klein at No. 4 singles narrowly dropped the first set 6-4 before losing the second set 6-3.

“Tough day for the ladies day. Navy was simply too talented and too deep for us to handle. Credit to Klein for being out there the longest and competing. We need to get back to campus and recuperate as we have a busy week of matches,” Pennington noted.

At the end of the weekend, the team’s record stands at 6-12 in the season and 5-10 in Patriot League play. The Raiders have their next match on Saturday, April 14 in their final Patriot League match against the Lafayette Leopards. The team will then compete in the Patriote League Tournament, which is set to begin on April 19. 

Contact Annie Hayes at [email protected].