Tennis Wrecks Foes

By MADALYN CROWELL

Over the weekend, the Mary Washington women’s tennis team took two conference wins against Salisbury University and Wesley College. Both matches took place Saturday in Salisbury, Md.

The Eagles are ranked 18th in the country among Division III colleges, and moved to 6-0 in the conference after their weekend victories.

“Our team did a great job overcoming the challenging weather conditions, and showed our true resilience and competitiveness,” senior Courtney Goimarac said. “Although the match situation wasn’t ideal since we transitioned from outdoor to indoor courts several times, we were able to keep our focus and fight which earned us the win.”

The women defeated Salisbury 5-0, with two singles and three doubles wins. The Eagles No. 2, senior Megan Lawlor, and No. 4, junior Michelle Meadows, won the singles matches. Lawlor blew past Salisbury’s Elaina Iosue 6-0, 5-1, while Meadows coasted by Victoria Handlin 6-0, 6-3.

Meadows also performed well in doubles competition, as she and freshman teammate Lindsay Raulston took the win for UMW’s No. 2 doubles team.

“After beating Salisbury and Wesley this weekend, we clinched our No. 1 spot in the conference and are hoping to do the same in the tournament,” Meadows said. “Our team works really well together and fights hard for one another, which makes us successful.”

The senior coupling of Goimarac and Lawlor took the No. 1 doubles victory over Salisbury’s Jillian Poppe and Angela Tenaglia, edging the Sea Gulls pair 9-7. The Eagles No. 3 doubles team also earned a win, as junior Jocelyn Lewis and sophomore Cassie Bowman crushed their Salisbury counterparts, 8-1.

The Eagles were equally as dominant in their victory over Wesley College, as UMW took another 5-0 win. Mary Washington took both singles wins and swept the three doubles matches as well. Goimarac again found success in her singles matches, as did Raulston, and each earned points for the Lady Eagles.

“We’re a super close team and our competitiveness and drive to play and win matches for each other is one of our teams greatest attributes,” Raulston said.

Doubles wins against Wesley were taken by No. 1, Meadows and Raulston, No. 2, Lewis and Bowman, and No. 3, senior Danielle Velardi and junior Casey Malcolm.

Eagles head coach Patrick Catullo demonstrated pride in his team following the successful Saturday matches.

“We posted some important wins this past weekend, especially against Salisbury,” Catullo said. “It was a tough environment to play in and the team was very focused and handled the match very well. [I’m] Especially pleased with the way we responded in doubles and incorporated some the changes we have been working on since the trip to Atlanta.”

Though the Eagles are playing well now, they look forward to the challenges that await them in the matches to come.

“Looking ahead to the rest of the season, our team is excited for the CAC tournament and has been working very hard to play our best tennis when it matters the most,” Goimarac said.

The Eagles will take on Sweet Briar College, Sunday at 1 p.m. in Sweet Briar, Va.