The Geneseo women's tennis team captured their fifth SUNYAC championship and third in the last four years at the SUNYAC tournament Oct. 7 – 9.
"It's a really special feeling because last year we came really close," head coach Jim Chen said. "We really committed to the act of preparing ourselves."
Geneseo easily won their first round match against SUNY Plattsburgh, 9-0, on Oct. 7. The next day in the semifinals, the Knights defeated SUNY Cortland, 6-3. They won all three doubles matches for the second straight day.
Geneseo showed its depth at singles with first year Amanda Rosati and junior Sarah Shields winning fifth and sixth singles respectively, each in straight sets. Both players finished the fall season with an undefeated record.
"[Rosati and Shields] are sure points. They have been pretty dominant," Chen said. "They go out there and no one can touch them."
Geneseo defeated SUNY New Paltz in the SUNYAC championship, 5-1. Seniors Monica Vieth and Julia Passik got the team started, winning first doubles by a score of 8-0.
"The two of them are accomplished tennis players," Chen added. "[Vieth] is a very important piece of this puzzle. She is very competitive."
In third doubles, first years Shiho and Kaho Sato also won, 8-0. Seniors Reggie Connelly and Lauren Johnson lost second doubles in a tiebreak, 9-8 (9-7). The very close loss was the Knights' first doubles loss of the season in SUNYAC play.
"We have adopted a doubles strategy that is used at the pro level," Chen said. "We did wipe out the competition this year in doubles and we combined that with our depth at singles."
The win gives Geneseo an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament in May. The Knights finished their fall season 11-1 overall and 9-0 against SUNYAC opponents.