Tennis picks up two wins in three consecutive days of matches
The Saint Joseph’s University men’s and women’s tennis teams both had a busy weekend from April 7-9.
Head Coach Ian Crookenden looked at the abundance of matches as a good test for the Hawks.
“This is a good weekend because if we’re going to do well in the A-10 tournament, we have to be able to string together two or three consecutive days of matches,” Crookenden said.”
The men’s team took on Fordham University in an indoor Atlantic 10 match on April 7. Senior Kyle Chalmers and sophomore Tim Stierle were able to pick up a doubles victory for the Hawks, but Fordham University would win the other two flights to take the doubles point.
Freshman Beekman Schaeffer defeated his opponent in the fourth flight in two sets before Chalmers did the same in the second flight to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead. After Stierle won his match in the first flight, junior Peter Dewitt finished with a win for the Hawks’ fourth point, sealing a 4-3 victory. The women’s team didn’t fare as well in their match against Fordham, losing all seven points.
Both St. Joe’s squads picked up victories against Saint Francis University on April 8. The men’s team broke Saint Francis’ seven-match win streak with a 5-2 victory. The Hawks won the doubles point with victories from Chalmers and Stierle as well as Dewitt and sophomore Dan Tan. Dewitt won his singles match followed by a win from Stierle. Schaeffer was the fourth singles match to finish as he picked up a win in three sets. His victory was the fourth point for the Hawks, enough to secure a victory. Chalmers also won his singles flight for the Hawks’ fifth and final point.
“Saint Francis was a really good team that we went into knowing it was going to be tough,” Dewitt said. “We really came up clutch and came up big. We all played really well. We came up with a win pretty handily.”
The women’s team also picked up a win by way of a 4-3 score. After losing the doubles point, the Hawks were granted a point due to a lack of players, so freshman Katherine Devlin was given a win by default. Seniors Alex Zachem, Sarah Contrata and sophomore Isis Gill-Reid each picked up a win in singles to tally four total points and the win for St. Joe’s.
On the third straight day of play, the St. Joe’s men’s team went up against the University of Dayton, while the women’s team rested. The Hawks were able to pick up the doubles point, but unfortunately only one singles point thanks to Dewitt, who won each of his singles flights over the weekend.
“I’m feeling fully confident in my game right now,” Dewitt said. “That George Mason [University] match [on April 2] was definitely a confidence booster. I’m glad that I’m going in to the end of the season and the A-10s with that confidence. I think the whole team has definitely gained a lot of confidence from it, especially the George Mason win.”
Despite falling to Dayton, Crookenden was satisfied with the performance from the men’s team over the weekend.
“I was extremely pleased they won the doubles point,” he said. “It’s been an area that we’ve been a little concerned about. All in all, it was a really good weekend coming out with a 2-1 record. We would’ve liked to turn today [April 9] around, but they’re [Dayton] a strong team; very physical and they were a little bit fresher than we were.”
The men’s team will travel to rival Villanova University next on April 12 for a 3 p.m. match. The women’s team will play again on April 13 at 3 p.m. against the University of Delaware at home.
