Tennis prepares for NCAA Tournament

Though the school year may be coming to an end, the tennis team has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success this season on their way to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Tournament, which is set to take place from May 22-27. 

With an overall record of 11-7, the team looks to continue their success by beating their last opponents of the regular season, St Lawrence University, on Saturday April 15 and taking that momentum into the NCAA Tournament. 

After conquering rival SUNY New Paltz to claim the title of SUNYAC Tournament Champion in the fall, the team appeared outmatched in several of its matches during the spring season. The team has split their last two, with an 8-1 defeat of Union College and a 9-0 loss to the University of Rochester. Despite the 1-4 record in April, there is still a sense of optimism for this team to do remarkable things in the NCAAs.

“During the fall, we competed against teams like SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Cortland in our effort to win the SUNYAC Tournament in October,” junior captain Rachel Ollis said. “During the spring semester—after we were victorious in the SUNYAC Tournament—we played against private schools in preparation for the NCAAs in early May.”  

During the season, it is a grind on a week-to-week basis. 

“Practices are two hours, but we usually get a day off during the week. However, during practice, we warm up, practice shots, participate in many drills, work on the net game, work on doubles and compete against each other,” Ollis said. “My typical day as a Geneseo athlete is class, then immediately practice.”

When accounting for the team’s success this season, it is difficult not to concentrate on head coach Jason Stephens, but there are several other additional factors that contribute to a team’s overall success on the court. 

“We are lucky to have a tennis coach who teaches tennis as a profession,” Ollis said. “As a result, practices run more effectively because he knows what he is doing. He works on the players individually with what they need to work on.”

The team’s relationship has been another factor in their success. 

“We never let anyone stand out on the courts by themselves—supporting each other is a huge thing,” Ollis said. “We always do everything together—get along, live together—and we have grown into a family.”  

The women hope to finish the season strong and to do well in the NCAA Tournament. Their goal is to focus on training over the summer so that they can come back swinging during their main season in the fall.

Tennis’ success leads to sixth consecutive SUNYAC title

The tennis team continues to display excellence, as they have claimed the title as SUNYAC Tournament Champions for the sixth consecutive year. In the tournament, the Knights defeated SUNY Cortland and SUNY Oneonta before completing their championship run over opponent SUNY New Paltz on Oct. 10 with a final score of 5-1.

Head coach Jason Stephens took the position in 2015 and has since led the team to success for two years in a row. Stephen credited the team’s ability to maintain a high level of excellence to the culture that has been established and developed in the women’s tennis team throughout its past.

“Geneseo has always had really good tennis teams, there’s tradition there,” Stephens said.

The culture and tradition of the team was built, in large part, by previous head coach Jim Chen. Chen retired in 2015 as the most successful coach in the program’s history, compiling a record of 138-40.

The team added to that tradition this year with a 9-1 record, having five players named to the All-SUNYAC Team. Additionally, juniors Anika Pornpitaksuk and Lauren Salzano were named SUNYAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Year. These accomplishments are even more impressive when considering the team’s high expectations.

“The team only had one returning starter from last year’s team,” Stephens said.

This challenge of welcoming new players, however, was overcome by the overall chemistry of the group.

“Every team is different. This team is about grit and battling for every point,” Stephens said.

This mentality drove the team to harness the momentum of the team’s success and battle for every victory. Stephens emphasized that the team plays every point like it’s game point.

Stephens cited the team captains Salzano and junior Rachel Ollis as key figures in the team’s success. Having leaders amongst the team allowed Stephens to focus on the strategies and game plans used throughout the season, trusting the captains to keep the team focused and ready. This permitted the women to play their best tennis, especially in the SUNYAC Tournament.

Stephens also praised the performance of junior Sienna Susko, whom he mentioned had not played tennis in several years, but became an integral and impressive part of the team. This kind of dedication is consistent throughout the roster and, to Stephens, was what made this team special. “Every woman got a chance to contribute to the team’s success,” Stephens said.

Though the team and Stephens are happy with what they have accomplished this year, Stephens said that they are still looking to achieve more in the future. “We want to make our schedule tougher and to compete for more,” Stephens said.

With all that they have achieved this year, it will be exciting to see the tennis team overcome their next challenge.

Tennis earns top seed in SUNYAC play

The Geneseo women’s tennis team is exuding confidence after defeating rival SUNY Fredonia with a score of 9-0 on Sept. 14. With this convincing victory, the Knights clinched the top seed in the Western Division of the SUNYAC Tournament, which is from Oct. 8-9. Since securing the top seed in the upcoming Conference Championship Tournament, the women have continued to dominate with victories against SUNY Brockport and SUNY New Paltz, winning 8-1 and 5-4, respectively.

Junior Anika Pornpitaksuk was one of five athletes on the team to conquer in both single and double matches, helping the squad overcome the visiting Brockport Golden Eagles. Then, against New Paltz the Knights came up big in two of the three double sets before claiming the victory with three straight wins in single play.

The team competed in the Northeast Region Championships at William Smith College on Saturday Sept. 24 and Sunday Sept. 25. The players competed hard, highlighted by performances from Pornpitaksuk, sophomore Vanessa Lam-Tran and junior Lauren Salzano. With this flawless performance, the team prevailed in the tournament.

“There is so much depth on this team with no drop off,” junior captain Rachel Ollis said.   “Each woman is a good player and we complement each other well. Lauren [Salzano] is particularly good at singles.”

Ollis believes that chemistry is a key factor in all sports, but especially for this Knights team. Due to the fact that there are few on the tennis team—there are only eight players—it’s hard to not grow close.

“I think it’s because everyone is so dedicated to the craft. We hone our strengths and try to improve on our weaknesses,” Ollis said.

In fact, Ollis said the team “gels” very well together. For instance, when Ollis got injured, her teammates brought her cards and food to ensure that she was feeling better. “It is very touching when a teammate is always watching your match, cheering you on,” Ollis said.

Another vital key to this team’s success has been head coach Jason Stephens. “He always makes time for us and is devoted to the sport,” Ollis said. “I was down 3-7 in a tournament match and came up victorious because of his incredible coaching. He never talks about the past, but looks to the future. He is very optimistic and a truly great coach.”

With the SUNYAC Tournament beginning on Saturday Oct. 8, the women look to come out on top in their final matches against SUNY Cortland on Friday Sept. 30 and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday Oct. 1.

Ollis believes that the team will perform well at the tournament. This cannot be achieved, however, without the hard work, dedication and skill the women have shown this season.

Club tennis looks to gain recognition with competitive schedule

Although the Geneseo club tennis team has been around for a while, the team has become more organized this season, having just won a tournament hosted by Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Geneseo prevailed over not only the host, but also other participants such as Binghamton University, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Brockport and Clarkson University. It was the team's first tournament of the year, but there should be more to come during the spring semester.

"For the spring semester, we're planning to utilize some courts in the area and we have some tournaments scheduled as well," senior Alexandra Dananberg said.

Dananberg noted that the team has already been in contact with club teams at SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College about future tournaments.

Although club tennis cannot be compared to varsity tennis in terms of competitiveness, that is precisely the reason that the club is gaining popularity.

"I get to work on my form and just compete," junior Veronica Skolnick said. "It's nice to have something that's not as competitive as varsity tennis, but something where you still get to play and meet new people."

Some of the members are former varsity athletes who have been playing tennis for many years. The club gives them the chance to compete at a semi-competitive level.

"I've been playing tennis for quite a long time and I transferred here, so at my community college, I actually played junior college tennis," senior Ali Krowiak said. "I still wanted that competitive aspect like my other counterparts did."

Team captain junior Justin Bunyan runs three practices per week during the warm seasons, organizing drills to keep the team in form. Although many members are playing at either an intermediate or advanced level, the club is open to anyone.

"We also accept beginners," Skolnick said. "That's why we like club tennis: because it's for all levels and it's more relaxed."

As for the team's top performers in practice and during the tournaments, there's a long list. Some of the team's best players are freshmen who may continue to the development of the club, such as freshmen Jimmy Anania and Harrison Hipolito. Other top performers include Bunyan and sophomore Kevin Zablonski.

Because the club has gone through periods of inactivity in the past, the officers are hoping that the current underclassmen will continue to establish the club as an active organization on campus.

"This is the first year we've really established ourselves on campus," Dananberg said. "We're definitely going to play more tournaments and get our name out more. We'd like to establish the underclassmen so they can continue to keep it going."

As they work to improve the team's reputation, the team members also recognize that a lot of progress has already been made in the last couple years.

"It wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I decided to take action and make it into a more uniform club with more competitions,” Skolnick said. “I'm so proud of where it's come because I never even expected to go to a tournament, let alone beat six other schools. I'm really proud of the team and everyone who's joined. I've made a lot of good friends and it's been a really fun experience."

Former Division I tennis player finds home at Geneseo

Junior Cat Crummey has come a long way since picking up a tennis racket for the first time as a 4-year-old. The list of her accolades has grown since and it will continue to grow as the Knights take on many challenging competitors in the tail end of their season. The Loudonville, New York-native explained that she was influenced by her two elder sisters to start playing tennis. Crummey played only during the summer at first, but tennis quickly grew into more than just a seasonal, recreational sport for her. “When I became 10 years old, I realized that’s what I want to do,” she said. “So I started playing all year-round.”

Crummey qualified for the New York State high school championships five times. It was there that Crummey finished fourth and won the Sportsmanship Award as a senior. Her commendations go on, including playing team tennis in the 1B and 1A National Championships, where she beat a five-star recruit.

With regards to her career highlights, Crummey recalled her excitement in a national competition when she beat a tennis player in a national high school competition who now plays for the University of Oregon. “I was warming up and I thought, ‘This girl is going to kill me, she’s so good,’” Crummey said. “But I was playing really well that day. I won in a tiebreaker third set … I remember I walked off the court and I was crying—I was so happy.”

After high school, Crummey played for Division I University at Albany for two seasons before transferring to Geneseo. Crummey explained that she was drawn to Geneseo due to both its academics and the impressive reputation that head coach Jim Chen has built for his tennis team in Division III. Balancing Geneseo’s highly ranked tennis and academics is nothing Crummey can’t handle, however.

“I actually do better [academically] when I’m in season because you feel like you need to get your priorities straight,” she said. “It’s more of a schedule—it keeps you structured.” A math and business major, Crummey hopes to go to law school or to get her masters of business administration after college.

Over a month remains in the Knights’ schedule—the NCAA Tournament starts on May 8. The team will be going up against difficult competition to prepare for the even tougher competition in the Tournament. “The team’s main goal is to win the second round and to go on in the NCAA Tournament,” Crummey said. “My goal personally is to just go out and try my best and win all the matches I can.”

Crummey noted that she loves cheering her teammates on, stressing how winning a match isn’t just about getting a point as an individual, but rather for the team. That being said, Crummey still has her own matches to think about.

“When I’m on the court, I’ll fight until I don’t have anything left. I don’t want to lose,” Crummey said. “I will fight.”

Crummey will indeed fight as the Knights take on the University of Rochester at home on Thursday April 9.

Fall season ends with SUNYAC title for tennis

For the fourth time in five years, the Geneseo tennis team has brought the SUNYAC title home. The team finished off with an excellent 10-0 season, led by juniors Marylen Santos and Cat Crummey. “The maturity of the team is extremely high,” head coach Jim Chen said.

The Knights blew through the competition at the SUNYAC championship, sweeping the tournament. They outplayed the strong SUNY New Paltz team in the final match, showing the Knights’ dedication and work ethic that Chen has pushed them to develop since August.

“We wanted to dominate in competitive matches,” he said.

The Knights are in for a tough schedule in the spring—Chen wants them to play a higher level of competition in order to prepare for a run at the NCAA National Championship. New York University, St. Lawrence University, Hamilton College and the University of Rochester are just a few of the teams that the Knights will square up against next semester. Despite formidable opponents, Chen stated that the team has confidence that it can keep up the level of dominant play.

“They have really become elite tennis players,” he said.

Seniors Dexuan Yuan, Minxuan Yuan and Amanda Rosati want to make a run at the National Championship in their final campaign as Knights. They will look to set an example for young players like sophomore Maggie Hale and freshmen Anika Pornpitaksuk and Lauren Salzano in the spring to show how impressive the Knights tennis team can be.

The Knights will work in the offseason in order to improve things like foot speed and shot tolerance. Chen will create optional workouts for the whole team to do, as well as some activities that the girls will do on their own. Jump-roping will be a significant exercise for the team, helping the players to maintain their cardio and agility in the offseason.

“It’s a 24/7 job,” Chen said about the offseason. “I will be recruiting and thinking strategy for the next six weeks in the Virgin Islands.” Chen’s dedication to success is evident in the fact that even on a vacation, he is striving to make the 10-0 Knights even better.

Geneseo’s tennis team has a perfect concoction of experience, maturity, depth, youth and excellent coaching. Look for the Knights to do big things come springtime. A major run at an NCAA title may very well be in store for this team, something that will be fun to watch and experience for the entire Geneseo campus and community.

Midseason victories bode well for tennis

The Geneseo tennis team finished off on Oct. 3 and Saturday Oct. 4 with dominating wins over SUNY Cortland and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Geneseo was clearly a stronger team than Cortland, but appeared fairly evenly-matched with RPI. “It was important to see us play against Cortland,” head coach Jim Chen said. Chen made an adjustment with how he played his doubles teams.

His strategy seemed to work, as the Knights dominated the Red Dragons 9-0. The Knights finished off Cortland as juniors Marylen Santos and Mai Hashimoto brought their games together in doubles, dominating their opponents 8-3. Junior Cat Crummey and senior Amanda Rosati won their doubles match 8-1, as the new duo put on a clinic against Cortland’s second team of doubles. Senior Minxuan Yuan and sophomore Maggie Hale also beat their competitors 8-4.

The Knights overpowered the Engineers as well—sweeping them in doubles play. Hashimoto and Santos paired up and played extremely well, topping their opponents 8-2. Pairs Rosati and Crummey and Yuan and Hale both defeated their respective opponents 8-2.

According to Chen, RPI is a strong team and usually matches up well with Geneseo. Chen said that this match would be a good prediction to how the Knights would play in the NCAA Tournament. Their domination of RPI is a promising sign that the Knights could play well in their postseason tournaments.

“We have to remain hungry bears, not happy campers,” Chen said. “We want to make it to the later rounds of the NCAA tournament.”

As with many other teams, the tennis team tries to focus on how they play as opposed to their record on the court.

“We need to stay relaxed and focused, focusing on concentration and execution,” Chen said. Having so much success brings added pressure to a team and Chen uses his philosophy of execution and communication to counteract the nerves that a seemingly predetermined fate could bring to his team.

With both confidence and levels of intensity higher than ever, the Knights are ready to continue dominating SUNYAC competition. Hopefully, they can improve upon last year and go even further—this is the deepest team Geneseo has had in a while. The Knights are looking for their third consecutive SUNYAC Championship, which would be their fourth in five years.

The SUNYAC Tournament begins on Friday Oct. 10 at the Binghamton Tennis Center against SUNY Plattsburgh.

Doubles dominate for Tennis

Second team doubles players senior Amanda Rosati and junior Mai Hashimoto sparked the Knights on Saturday Sept. 27 and Sunday Sept. 28 at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tournament with an unbelievable upset. The pair took down the fourth-seeded duo from William Smith College of junior Katarina Kostovic and sophomore Hannah More 9-8—dominating the A flight champions 7-1 in the tiebreaker. Implementing head coach Jim Chen’s aggressive strategy of attacking the net, they won an unbelievable match against top-tier competitors. The pair was just put together this week by Chen. “They showed a lot of fight,” he said.

Other than Skidmore College, Geneseo advanced the most players (two) in the tournament to the third round of singles. Those two players were junior Cat Crummey and junior Marylen Santos—the unstoppable doubles duo that has embodied the Knights’ play this year: agile, communicative and aggressive.

“They have the ability to make this team fly,” Chen said.

Chen also said that third-team doubles partners sophomore Maggie Hale and senior Minxuan Yuan have used aggressive tactics in combination with their individual skills to boost themselves to an 8-2 record on the season in doubles play.

“I want to win using the correct strategy,” Chen said. To improve their success, the team practices with male tennis players who Chen calls “extremely talented.” The men play aggressively against the girls, giving them intense competition at game speed.

Making an interesting decision, Chen will bring in a sports psychologist this week to figure out why the team is having some difficulty with this new aggressive strategy in doubles.

“Most tennis players coming out of high school are singles players,” Chen said. His strategy contradicts what they have been taught for so many years in regards to how to play the court. His goal is to find the root of the problem and solve it before the SUNYAC Tournament begins on Oct. 10.

The Knights will visit SUNY Cortland on Friday Oct. 3 before playing their final home match before SUNYACs against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. RPI has a skilled team that the Knights will match up against well. This match could truly be a preview of how ready this team is to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Tennis shines at St. Lawrence tournament

With higher expectations than ever, the Geneseo women’s tennis team looks to put its skills to the test in back-to-back tournaments. The Knights have been overpowering their opponents of late, bringing their record to an unblemished 5-0. The team has been especially dominant in singles play, largely due to a surplus of talent. The duo of juniors Cat Crummey and Marylen Santos is expected to lead the team in doubles at the Northeast Regional Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tournament at William Smith College on Saturday Sept. 27 and Sunday Sept. 28.

The return of freshman Lauren Salzano from an injury should add even more depth to the team, as she hasn’t seen the court all season. Geneseo has been lucky this season with very few injuries thus far.

The Knights took six of 12 medals as a team at the St. Lawrence University Tournament on Saturday Sept. 20 through Sunday Sept. 21. They way they are playing now it appears that they are easily on their way to an NCAA Tournament bid. Head coach Jim Chen says his players “see the value” of his aggressive philosophy of attacking the net.

“We will remain hungry in the SUNYAC [play],” Chen said. “We are going to keep our foot on the gas pedal.” Chen also said he is “cautiously optimistic” about his team’s dominance thus far this season. He stresses the necessity of preparation for the SUNYAC tournament—not just focusing on winning and losing.

“We’re going to control what we can control, we’re going to execute in the moment,” Chen said. “The winning will come by itself.”

The ITA Tournament should be a breeze for the Knights if they keep up their aggression. The team’s biggest test will be against SUNY New Paltz, who the Knights defeated 7-2 when the two teams met back on Sept. 12. The Hawks were undefeated prior to their match with Geneseo.

As long as the Knights stay hungry, play hard and stick with Chen’s aggressive philosophy, a SUNYAC title will be expected. This team has shown that it can hang with any team in the country—let alone SUNYAC. Still, all of this raises the question of the NCAA Tournament. This has the potential to be one of the best teams Geneseo women’s tennis has ever had, but it won’t mean anything without a deep run next spring.

Tennis tops undefeated New Paltz

The Geneseo tennis team kept its undefeated season alive with a decisive 7-2 victory over rival SUNY New Paltz on Sept. 12. “We came upon a real midseason test when we played New Paltz,” head coach Jim Chen said. The Knights have played New Paltz in the past two SUNYAC Conference Championships. Led by juniors Marylen Santos and Cat Crummey––who won both their singles and doubles matches––the Knights made the match theirs.

Santos was named SUNYAC Women’s Tennis Singles Player of the Week and Crummey joined her in the Doubles Team of the Week.

“I want to push Santos and Crummey. I think right now, they are the best in SUNYAC,” Chen said.

Geneseo swept doubles play behind the play of senior Amanda Rosati and sophomore Karli Hollins, along with senior Minxuan Yuan and sophomore Maggie Hale who cruised to an 8-3 victory. Singles play was capped off with wins from senior Dexuan Yuan and junior Mai Hashimoto to ensure the 7-2 win for the Knights.

Although the Knights have outscored their opponents 34 sets to two, Chen is far from satisfied. “We don’t want it to be that we’re not prepared––that we are complacent––because it could easily turn,” he said. “We need to be prepared both physically and mentally.”

Although the Knights have been dominating so far this season, the competition is set to get even tougher. “We have tough matches coming up in the St. Lawrence Tournament, at Hamilton [College] and against [the University of] Rochester; all ranked opponents,” Chen said. “We are working so hard to get to where we need to be.”

Although the team has had a successful history in the SUNYAC, it has failed to make a really deep NCAA run in previous years because of its lack of consistent doubles play in the postseason. This season, Geneseo has posted a doubles record of 18-3.

“The fact that we are 4-0 shows the tremendous work we have done from preseason until now in forming doubles teams,” Chen said.

The Knights have continued to play fundamentally sound tennis that has them playing at an extremely high level. Because of this, Chen is very optimistic for his team’s future.

“I want us to be the best in the country,” he said. “I want us to go to the NCAA and dominate; that is what our goal is.”