The men’s and women’s tennis programs got their seasons off to an electric start with successful performances at the Daemen Invitational. Head coach Bobby Pennington’s squads looked sharp as both teams dominated the competition with a combined 63 victories over the weekend. Heavy contributions from seniors as well as first-years propelled the Raiders into a weekend that they hope will set the tone for the remainder of the season. 

Senior Jacob Daugherty started his season strong, and was one of six Raiders to record six individual victories over the weekend. Junior Alec Dardis and first-years Scott Bickel, Peter Hartman and Jack Ablon were equally dominant in their outings and shouldered the load for the Raiders. First-year Tyler Krantz, sophomore Kun Tan and juniors Cameron Swanson and Noah Rosenblat were dominant as well, recording five individual victories each. Dardis was distinctively successful, winning 6-1, 6-2; 6-2, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-2 in his three singles matches. He and Ablon were a stand out duo as well, cruising to easy victories in all three of their matches. But out of all the raiders who competed over the weekend, Daugherty was the most dominant, cruising to a 6-3, 6-0 victory in his final singles match of the weekend. It was a solid start for the Raiders, who will participate in the Binghamton Invitational next weekend and look to continue their winning ways in the early stages of this highly anticipated season.

The women’s team was perhaps even more dominant at Daemen than the men’s team, cruising to a combined 30-1 individual record and setting the precedent for a strong 2017-2018 season. Colgate won six of seven singles championships and tacked on three doubles championships over the weekend, receiving major contributions from athletes in each class.

First-year MacKenzie Deeter, junior Lauren Hyland, sophomores Lauren O’Brien and Jordan Williams and seniors Kelly Klein and Cheyenne Brown each contributed six victories. Hyland was dominant in her three singles matches, dropping just one set en route to a weekend in which she boasted a game record of 42-19. The doubles team of O’Brien and Deeter could not be stopped all weekend, going 3-0 and dropping just five games in total. Equally successful was the Klein/Brown squad who dropped just nine games in their three matches. The team will participate next in the West Point invitational hosted by the Black Knights. 

The outlook for the Colgate tennis program is bright. Pennington’s 11th season at the helm is off to a strong start, as both teams look to carry the momentum into this upcoming weekend.

Contact Gabe Alter at [email protected].