This past weekend, the Colgate men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders. Both the men and the women were able to score victories, bringing head coach Bobby Pennington the 200th win of his Colgate career.  

The women’s team were able to bring home a 7-0 sweep thanks to the outstanding performances of both the singles players and doubles teams. The No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Lauren Hyland and senior Hannah Fleckenstein was able to win its match 6-2, while the No. 2 duo of senior Kaelin Brittin and first-year Jordan Williams took a 6-1 win. For the No. 3 doubles match, senior Kirstie Woodbury and first-year Lauren O’Brien swept the competition with a 6-0 win.

As for singles competition, the women were equally successful. In the No. 1 singles match, Hyland took the win in two sets with scores of 6-3 and 6-4. O’Brien took the No. 2 victory in one set that ended with a score of 8-3. Fleckenstein also closed out the No. 3 match, 8-2. Williams won the No. 4 match in two sets that both ended with a score of 6-1, and junior Kelly Klein claimed the No. 5 singles win in two sets of 6-3 and 7-5. Junior Cheyenne Brown secured the sweep for the Raiders by winning the No. 6 match with scores  of 7-6 and 6-0.

“Women continue their impressive league record, improving to 3-1 in league play and inching closer to a winning season. All the ladies came ready to play outdoors and focused from doubles on. Game ball went to Cheyenne Brown, who made her comeback complete and is one of the most positive players I have coached. The women look forward to their bye weekend and then revenge against Marist,” coach Pennington said.

The men also managed to sweep their opponents over the weekend. The No. 1 doubles team of junior Jacob Daugherty and senior Jake Hirschberg won their match 6-0, while senior Bobby Alter and junior Noah Rosenblat won the No. 2 doubles match 6-2. Senior Win Reynolds and first-year Kun Tan completed the doubles sweep by taking their match 6-1.

In singles play, No. 1 player Daugherty defeated his opponent with scores of 6-0 and 6-2, while Alter also emerged victorious in both sets, 6-3. Hirschberg and Rosenblat each won their matches with scores of 6-3, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-2, respectively. Reynolds and sophomore Cameron Swanson won the No. 5 and No. 6 matches in one set each. Coach Pennington expressed extreme pride regarding the team’s recent progress.

“What a difference a week makes for the men. After playing by far our worst match of the year in all phases against Lehigh, the guys had a turning point and spark, winning their fourth match in a row in six days, to improve to 9-6 and 2-1 in league.  The boys came out sharp and quick in the doubles and carried momentum through in singles. Game ball went to Cameron Swanson for winning in his singles debut. We have arguably our biggest weekend coming up with Bucknell and Boston,” Pennington said.

The men will return next weekend to host the Bucknell Bison on Saturday for a Patriot League match, while the women will travel to Marist next Tuesday, April 18 for a midweek match.