The Colgate men’s and women’s tennis teams had an eventful weekend with matches against Hofstra and Marist on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Despite their best efforts, Colgate men’s tennis lost to Hofstra 2-5 and Marist 3-4 while Colgate women’s tennis also lost to Hofstra 7-0.

The women faced a challenging matchup against Hofstra on Saturday February 24. Hofstra opened the match with wins in all three doubles matches, winning No. 3 doubles 6-0 and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles 6-3. The Raiders then tried to combat the Pride in singles play, but Hofstra was able to take all six single matches as well. First-year MacKenzie Deeter, sophomore Jordan Williams and senior Cheyenne Brown were able to force tiebreakers in singles play but were unable to come away with any match wins.

“It was a tough day for the ladies today as they lost to a high quality Hofstra team. We came out a bit flat in doubles but picked it up in singles with Brown, Williams and Deeter taking their opponents to breakers. We have a big week ahead to get ready for Bucknell,” head coach Bobby Pennington said.

Meanwhile, Colgate men’s tennis also faced a difficult match against Hofstra. Hofstra took an early lead in the match, earning wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles before the Raiders returned with a win at No. 3 doubles by junior Alec Dardis and first-year Jack Ablon. The Raiders continued to fight the Pride in singles play with wins by first-year Scott Bickel and Peter Hartman but Hofstra was able to win four of the six matches in singles to take the 5-2 win. 

Men’s tennis faced another competitive matchup against Marist on Sunday, February 25, in which nearly every match was highly contested. Marist began doubles on a high note with close wins at No. 2 and No. 3  but Colgate was able to respond with a No. 1 doubles win by senior Jacob Daugherty and first-year Tyler Krantz. The Raiders continued to battle back against Marist with wins in singles. Daugherty was able to claim a win in No. 1 singles as well, dominating in his second set to win 7-5, 6-0. 

Additionally, Bickel won his seventh consecutive match at No. 2 singles with a three-set win while Ablon also won a three-set match at No. 6 singles. The Raiders came close to victory as Hartman competed at No. 5 singles in one of the closest matches of the morning but he ultimately lost in a pair of tiebreakers 7-5, 7-6. Marist managed to pull out a win against Colgate, 3-4.

“This was the best tennis and one of the higher-quality non-conference matches I have been a part of at Colgate. Marist traditionally goes to NCAAs and beats the top teams in our league, and we were single points away from beating them. Credit goes to Daugherty for winning both his matches, and Ablon and Bickel for winning in three sets in singles. It came down to a heartbreaking doubles point and Hartman’s marathon match at No. 5 singles. We now regroup and set our sights on rival Bucknell Saturday night,” Pennington said.

Colgate men’s and women’s tennis will return to action on Saturday, March 3, when they will open up Patriot League play against the Bucknell Bison at 4 p.m. at the Hershey Tennis Center.

Contact Kendall Robinson at [email protected].