Sports

Women's tennis battles ranked Hopkins

In print | March 27, 2008

Unfortunately, the Garnet women’s tennis team was unable to pull off the major upset when they traveled to Baltimore to face rival Johns Hopkins (ranked #14 nationally) on Tuesday afternoon. However, the women still put up a solid effort, and signs of progression and rebuilding are readily evident in the young squad.

One aspect that stands out most about the young team is its atmosphere and the support that the ladies give to one another. As team captain Erica Lukoski ’08 said, “There is a great team dynamic. Supporting your teammates in tennis might be more important than it is in other team sports, because when it comes down to it, you are alone on the court playing your match … hearing others cheer or just knowing they are there and are encouraging you is very helpful and keeps the spirit of the team high.”

This team dynamic lends to the improvement of the ladies, both as individuals and as a team. As Rachel Wallwork ’10 described, “I think that everyone on the team has improved an incredible amount so far and they continue to improve all the time. Everyone is really supportive of everyone else, which is important for winning those tough matches.”

Lukoski echoed that sentiment, stating, “We have really come far from the beginning of the season, both on the court and off. We have become closer as a team, which is important for team dynamics on the court, especially in doubles. When we win matches, this is being seen through team spirit and intensity.”

This type of growth as players helped the team go into the match confident of their ability to compete, even against a nationally-ranked team. Normally a national ranking would strike fear into the hearts of opponents, heaping extra pressure on them, but the Garnet took it in stride. In describing the team attitude towards the match, Wallwork stated, “I don’t think there is any added pressure when playing a nationally ranked team. For every match we just go out there and play our hardest.”

Lukoski shared a similar view, as she said, “Given that we have had much experience in the past in both playing nationally-ranked teams and being a nationally- ranked team, we have gotten used to a high level of competition. It is always exciting and usually, it elevates the level of everyone’s game because there is a lot of hype. However, the fact that Hopkins is also our conference rival makes the match a little more intense. These are the matches you work so hard for in practice everyday. When the big day comes, it is time to leave it all out there on the court.”

Though Hopkins handed the Garnet its first conference loss and only its second overall, the team’s goals remain in focus. “The goals of this season are to perform to the best of our ability and be a real power in the conference. We hope to make the conference playoffs, as we have every year previously. We are off to a great start … so I think that we are working towards being a threat in the conference and challenging the top-ranked teams,” Lukoski said.

The Garnet will get a chance at redemption this weekend when they seek to topple another nationally ranked team, Skidmore (#30), at home, starting at 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon. The team will follow that up with conference play on both Saturday and Tuesday when they host Washington College a 1:00 p.m. and then travel to Ursinus for some 3:30 p.m. action.