The College's tennis teams both defeated Bates College and then went their separate ways as the women beat Swarthmore College and the men lost to Johns Hopkins University.
The women's tennis team, ranked No. 23 nationally and No. 7 regionally, tacked on two more wins last week, beating Bates 7-2 and Swarthmore 5-4. The team is 14-1 overall this season and is unbeaten at home.
The women displayed resilience last Wednesday against Bates, coming back from a 2-1 deficit at the completion of the doubles matches to win all six singles matches.
The College took the No. 3 doubles match as sophomore Haley Kutner and freshman Stefanie Haar sealed an 8-0 win over Bates junior Julie Brown and freshman Laura Will.
Freshman Jackie Shtemberg and junior Christina Contrafatto, the College's top pair, is now the region's top pair as well. Last Monday, they earned the No. 1 ranking in the Northeast Region. The two are 23-5 overall this year and 12-2 in dual meet play.
Shtemberg and Contrafatto's 8-5 loss against Bates was only a minor setback, as the pair bounced back quickly posting an 8-6 win over Swarthmore seniors Sonya Reynolds and Sara Sargent, who hold the No. 6 spot in the South Atlantic Region. It may, however, affect their recently earned No. 1 ranking when the new rankings are released.
"(The loss) just wasn't expected but we still go out there playing every team like it is the most important match. We went out with that attitude against Swarthmore and came back out on top again. We beat them previously at Nationals for the fifth position," Contrafatto said.
Shtemberg aided her team in the 5-4 win over Swarthmore on Friday by defeating Reynolds, who is ranked No. 4 in the South Atlantic Region, 6-3, 6-4. Shtemberg holds a No. 7 regional ranking in singles in the Northeast Region and is 26-3 overall this season with a perfect 14-0 dual meet record.
The men's team split two matches this past week, beating Bates 6-3 last Tuesday but losing 6-3 to Johns Hopkins University. The team is 10-2 overall this season.
Last Tuesday's victory over Bates was huge as it pitted two top-10 regionally ranked teams against one another. The Lions are ranked No. 10 in the region while the Bobcats are ranked No. 7.
Senior Corey Ball, the one senior on the team, was honored at the Senior Day match against Bates. Ball triumphed at No. 4 singles over junior Danillo Acosta 6-4, 6-2. Ball stands at 16-4 on the season in singles play and is 64-18 in his career.
Ball teamed at No. 2 doubles with junior Eric Ferriere for a win to improve to 15-3 together. Overall for his career, Ball has combined for a 124-39 record on the courts over the last four years in singles and doubles action.
The Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins shook up the Lions with a 6-3 win. The Blue Jays claimed wins in all three doubles matches, snapping the 11-match win streak of juniors Michael Klimchak and Roger Mosteller. Klimchak and Mosteller stand at 32-6 overall.
Klimchak fell to 15-4 this year as a result of the loss at first singles to freshman David Maldow 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. Klimchak is ranked No. 15 in singles play in Division III.
Ball, Mosteller and Ferriere all won their respective singles matches to account for the Lions' three points of the match. Mosteller is 15-3 in singles play with a 10-1 dual meet record, while Ferriere is 18-3 with an 11-1 dual meet record on the season.
Johns Hopkins is ranked No. 13 in the nation and No. 3 in the region with a 15-2 record on the season.
The men face Drew University next in Madison, N.J., while the women host Muhlenberg College. Both matches start at 4 p.m. today.
