The women's tennis team opened their season this weekend with victories in Brockport and Fredonia.
As the season gets underway, Geneseo stands poised for a strong run and will present a difficult challenge for even the best teams. They were a force to be reckoned with in 2006, finishing second in the SUNYAC tournament after an 8-0 season.
The Knights defeated the Brockport Golden Eagles on Friday afternoon six matches to three. Sophomores Erika Pumple and Anna Lehet won 8-3 in second doubles, while junior Caitlin Sternberg and sophomore Stephanie Loccisano won 8-2 in third doubles. Geneseo led Brockport 2-1 at the end of the doubles matches.
Junior Vivian Cheung then helped the team in singles play, winning 6-2 and 6-1 in third singles. Sternberg captured fourth singles, winning 6-1 in both games, while Lehet was solid in fifth singles, winning 6-3 and 6-4. Freshman Molly Dingley took sixth singles, winning both games 6-0.
The team then improved their record to 2-0 with a victory at SUNY Fredonia. In doubles play, senior Kristen Greiner and Cheung won 8-1 in the first slot, while Sternberg and Loccisano snagged an 8-6 decision in third doubles.
The Knights led 2-1 going into singles play. They then proceeded to win all six singles matches. In first singles, Pumple won 6-1 in both games, followed by Greiner, who took second singles with 6-1 and 6-0 victories. Cheung won third singles, 6-4 and 6-0, while Sternberg captured fourth with wins of 6-1 and 6-2. Lehet won her games 6-2 and 6-0, earning a victory in the fifth slot, and Dingley completed the sweep, winning 6-1 and 6-0 in sixth singles.
The team, led by Coach Jim Chen, has two of its strongest players returning in Greiner and Pumple.
Greiner was great in singles play (9-2 in second singles) and nearly unstoppable in doubles action last season, finishing 11-0 and earning her second SUNYAC first doubles championship. Her longtime partner Krissy Feikert has graduated, however, so Greiner must adapt to new partner Cheung, who was 8-2 in second doubles last season.
Pumple returns to her spot in first singles, where she finished 7-3 last season, and will continue to play second doubles with new partner Lehet. Lehet finished 2006 with a record of 10-1 in third doubles and was a perfect 11-0 in fifth singles at season's end. While no one can ever guarantee the type of incredible undefeated season the team had last year, the roster this season is talented and a repeat is possible. Geneseo will travel to William Smith College for the William Smith Tournament this Saturday and Sunday.