Geneseo’s women’s tennis team won their last two regular season matches, finishing 8-1 on the season.
The Knights beat SUNY Cortland 7-2 on Sept. 30, getting off to a fast start as they won all three doubles matches. The team’s two senior pairings each won their doubles matches. Monica Vieth teamed with Julia Passik to win first doubles, 8-6 and Reggie Connelly and Lauren Johnson took second doubles, 9-8 (5). First years Shiho and Kaho Sato paired up to take third doubles, 8-0.
In addition, Geneseo played well in singles matches. Passik won second singles in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.
“[Passik] is like a wall; she gets everything back,” head coach Jim Chen said. “It was a pretty convincing win on Julia’s part.”
Shiho Sato took third singles, 6-0, 6-0. First year Amanda Rosati and junior Sarah Shields each remained undefeated on the season, winning fifth and sixth singles, respectively.
Geneseo built on that win and defeated the Rochester Institute of Technology, 8-1. Chen said he believes the Knights are playing well with two big wins after losing to RIT.
“We re-established our dominance and we have great confidence knowing we are on our way,” Chen added. “It was nice to rebound on that loss going into SUNYACs.”
At RIT, Geneseo took all three doubles matches. The senior pairings of Vieth and Passik and Johnson and Connelly won first and second doubles, respectively, each by a score of 8-4. The Sato pairing won third doubles, 8-0.
Passik won second singles in straight sets and Shiho Sato won third singles, 6-0, 6-0. She hasn’t allowed a single point in singles or doubles in two straight matches.
“[Shiho Sato] was hitting the ball really cleanly and consistently,” Chen said. “Her mechanics are wonderful and she is happy to be contributing to the team’s success. Shiho and Kaho bring a lot of energy to the team.”
Rosati and Shields won fourth and fifth singles, respectively. Junior Katie Talbot took sixth singles, also in straight sets.
“It was a very strong showing right before SUNYACs,” Chen said. “We are confident but not over-confident. We aren’t taking things lightly going into SUNYACs.”
Geneseo finishes the regular season at 8-1 and 3-0 in the SUNYAC West conference. The team heads to Eastside Racquet Club in Manlius from Oct. 7-9 as they look to unseat SUNY New Paltz for the SUNYAC championship. The Knights beat New Paltz 9-0 earlier this season.