As is tradition, the Colgate women’s tennis team participated in the Michael Schonbraun ’96 Spring Break Trip; this year they travelled to Laie, Hawaii and defeated the Vulcans of the University of Hawaii at Hilo 7-2 on March 15, and then later fell to the BYU-Hawaii Seasiders 0-9 on March 17.

In the match against the University of Hawaii at Hilo, first-years Lauren O’Brien and Jordan Williams and senior Kaelin Brittin led the team with wins in both singles and doubles.

All three of Colgate’s doubles pairs defeated the Vulcans for an early Raider lead. Number 1 doubles, sophomore Lauren Hyland and senior Hannah Fleckenstein, came out on top 9-8; number 2 doubles, Brittin and Williams, defeated their opponents 8-1; number 3 doubles, senior Kristie Woodbury and O’Brien, won 8-4.

In the singles matches, the opposing players from the University of Hawaii at Hilo defeated both number 1 Hyland and number 2 Fleckenstein. However, in a quick turn of events, number 3 O’Brien, number 4 Williams, number 5 Brittin, and number 6 junior Kelly Klein all defeated their respective opponents. One highlight of the singles matches was O’Brien’s hard fight to win two close sets 7-6, 7-5 to claim her victory.

This match improved the Raiders’ season record to 4-5 and broke their two-match losing streak.

In the second match on March 17, the BYU-Hawaii Seasiders swept the Raiders 0-9. A very competitive team, the Seasiders are undefeated and ranked second nationally, making them a tough opponent for the Colgate squad.

Number 1 doubles, Hyland and Fleckenstein, fell 8-1, as did number 2 doubles, Brittin and Williams. Number 3 doubles, Woodbury and O’Brien, came the closest to gaining a point in doubles, but were held off 6-8 by the Seasiders.

Unfortunately, all six singles were defeated by BYU-Hawaii. The Raiders ended the Michael Schonbraun ’96 Spring Break Trip with a record of 1-1 and returned home to prepare for their match at Cornell on Wednesday, March 22. They enter the rest of the season with a 4-6 overall record, while the Seasiders remain undefeated.

Head coach Bobby Pennington feels ready for the rest of the season coming out of the spring break trip, despite the loss to BYU-Hawaii.  

“Despite the score, the women gave everything they had during each point. The only other time they will see a ball similar to BYU-Hawaii is against Cornell. BYU-Hawaii is very talented and had some players who have achieved WTA rankings. It was great experience for the ladies today and seeing this type of ball will more than prepare them for Patriot League play,” Pennington said.

The women of the Colgate tennis team have six more games of Patriot League ball before the Patriot League Tournament, three of which are home.