Women’s Tennis Concludes Best Season in Recent Memory

As their season comes to a close, the Colgate University women’s tennis team can celebrate a dominant run – their best in a decade. The team finished 3-2 in the Patriot League and 12-7 overall.

The Raiders began conference play at a record pace, posting three wins in a row. The women’s team had not seen numbers like this since the 1997-1998 season when Colgate went 5-0 in league play. Senior captain Emme Levenson commented on the team’s fantastic season.

“The women’s tennis team had the best regular season since 2013. We set lofty goals and worked incredibly hard to finish this season as one of the top teams in the Patriot League. We have a group of nine talented girls who play every match with grit and heart, and I’m so proud of all we have accomplished,” Levenson said.

Although the Raiders’ dominance slowed towards the end of the season, the team still had a spectacular year, and they hope that this is only the beginning. Several young first-year and sophomore players symbolize hope for a bright future, even after the star seniors, like Levenson, Katerina Atallah, and Emily Untermeyer, graduate.

First-year Amelia Galin is already one of the team’s strongest players, having won several Patriot League Female Player of the Week honorable mentions, and sophomore Jordan Ben-Shmuel, who received an honorable mention as well. Levenson agrees that this may be the start of a Colgate women’s tennis dynasty.

“Our lineup was a perfect mix between strong returning players and hungry first-years and sophomores. At the beginning of the year we said this was going to be our ‘dream season,’ and it 100% was. I am so incredibly proud of this team, and I know this is just the beginning for Colgate women’s tennis,” Levenson noted.

The women’s team will have some rest time before the Patriot League tournament, which will take place in West Point, N.Y. from April 27 to April 30. The Raiders will look to carry their regular season success into the postseason and continue to dominate.

Men’s Tennis Peaks Heading into Patriot League Tournament

Men’s Tennis is coming off a major 7-0 sweep against Rochester this past weekend in Colgate’s Annual Children’s Heart Awareness Match and is building confidence heading into the Patriot League Tournament. The match showed strength from the Raiders in their last of the regular season, with only one singles match lasting a full three sets. The team has now put together two 7-0 sweeps within its last three matches, having also beat Loyola on April 8. 

Head Coach Bobby Pennington signaled his excitement about the day.

“[The men’s team] continue their strong run at the right time. We had a packed crowd, raised a lot of money for heart awareness, and celebrated our seniors [Jack] Selati, [Mason] Caldwell, and [Benito] Vlassis,” Pennington said. “We set the tone in doubles, as they pushed us in certain spots. We now turn our attention to hosting the tournament and we’re chomping at the bit.

The Patriot League tournament, which will be hosted by Colgate at the J. W. Abrahamson Tennis Courts, starts this Thursday, April 2o. Colgate enters the tournament as the sixth overall seed out of nine teams, posting a 3-5 record in the conference. That leaves them matched up against the Boston University Terriers, who previously defeated ‘Gate in their April 2 match.

Sophomore Mikey Weitz noted the team’s confidence heading into the Patriot League Tournament.

“[Boston University] is a good team, but we always say it’s important to peak during the tournament, and based on how we’ve been playing recently it seems like that’s happening,” Weitz said. “We are definitely confident in our ability to go deep into this tournament, especially with the home-court advantage and the way all the guys are playing.”

Their season has had its ups and downs, but now is the time for the men to peak with impressive performances under their belt from these past two weeks. Best of luck to the Raiders this weekend as they begin tournament play at home.