Sports

Women serve against ranked opponents on court

In print | April 2, 2009

Seven matches into the 2009 season, Swarthmore women’s tennis has a 3-4 overall record, including wins over its first two Centennial Conference opponents, Gettysburg and Bryn Mawr. Despite its three early losses, the Garnet still hold the number eight spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Associates Division III Women’s Atlantic South Regional Rankings.

The team retained the rank after its shaky start partly because all three losses came against nationally ranked opponents during the team’s spring break trip to the South. Fifth ranked Emory, #20 University of the South, and #30 Rhodes defeated the Garnet with scores of 8-1, 7-2, and 7-2, respectively.

While his team came out of spring break winless, head coach Jeremy Loomis still viewed the trip as a positive experience. “[Nationally ranked teams] give us good competition for playing people that give you no free points, and that toughens you up,” he said. “We don’t want to be behind the ball as far as playing tough points.”

In other words, the Garnet had to work hard for every success, and they did see some. “Team-wise we didn’t come away with any wins, but there were definitely some bright spots,” Loomis said. “We just couldn’t pull it all together.” He did, however, commend a number of individual performances.

Swarthmore’s No. 1 singles player Rachel Wallwork ’10, last year’s Centennial Conference Player of the Year, defeated Emory’s Loren McManigle, currently the top-ranked singles player in the Atlantic South region. After the victory, Wallwork’s Atlantic South ranking shot up to #10.

Against University of the South, Luann Cignavitch ’11 also beat a ranked player, #25 Devin Tellatin. As a doubles team, co-captain Jennie Park ’09 and Wallwork beat the University of the South’s top doubles pair, ranked #11 nationally. As a result, Park and Wallwork received the #5 regional ranking in the subsequent poll.

Loomis recognized, however, that individual success does not translate into winning. “We can’t rely on just a few individual performances,” he said. He then noted how, after break, the Garnet put in a team effort against conference opponents. His squad handled Gettysburg easily on the road on March 21, only dropping one of the nine matches.

The Garnet put in another strong effort at home against Bryn Mawr on March 26, winning by a score of 6-3.

For the rest of the season, Loomis has set some goals for his players. He seeks to give the women the opportunity to “keep improving each match, stay healthy, compete and get into the conference playoffs.”

Staying healthy is particularly important. The 2009 roster is a little thin after two players who started the season with the team are now unable to play. The remaining seven players are picking up the pieces and moving on.

“My personal goal,” Loomis added, “is for the team to be peaking at the end of the season so we can make the conference tournament.” He added that if Swarthmore can gain a postseason berth, anything could happen.

Last season, the Garnet finished with a 12-6 overall record (9-1 in the Centennial Conference) and lost to Johns Hopkins 5-3 in the Centennial Conference Championship.

Additionally, Wallwork was one of 32 players nationally to be invited to compete in the 2008 NCAA Division III singles tournament.

In the meantime, consistency is key if the Garnet wants to return to the conference championship match. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in a match, and if we can limit the valleys when we lose focus, that’s the biggest thing,” Loomis said. “Dealing with adversity and dealing with pressure.”
He added that the team has been working on this aspect of the game in practice, but match situations deliver the best practice.

The Garnet faced a worthy opponent in Muhlenberg at home on Tuesday. The Mules beat Swarthmore 6-3 on the strength of depth behind the top players. Swarthmore scored victories from Wallwork at No. 1 singles and from Park at No. 2 singles. The pair also won at No. 1 doubles, but the three top-level victories were not enough to overcome Muhlenberg’s victories in the minor matches.

The Mules improved to 3-3 with the win and rose to match Swarthmore at a record of 2-1 in the conference.

On Saturday, Swarthmore will face a non-conference opponent for the last time this season when it hosts the University of Mary Washington. The Eagles currently hold the #9 ranking in the country, but the Garnet will look to put together a team effort and find success against a nationally ranked opponent. The matches will begin at 9:30 a.m.