UMW tennis continues to dominate

By OLIVIA TAYLOR

Staff Writer

The UMW men and women’s tennis teams have both been off to a dominant start to their Spring seasons.

The women’s team competed in the Eagle Indoor Invitational, hosted by Mary Washington this past weekend. The women’s team is currently undefeated on the season, with victories over Dickinson, Methodist, and Franklin & Marshall.  All of these wins were substantial, two of them being with 9-0 with no answered points from the opponent.

“Every season the team changes with freshmen coming in and seniors graduating. This year we have four freshmen who are learning trust our new process,” said senior Hannah Jabush when asked about how this season differed from others.

“In the off season we did a lot of team building activities and worked hard in the weight room getting stronger which will hopefully help us during our season.” said Jabush with high hopes for the season ahead.

“In the past three years that I have been here we have been a successful team that has won the CAC championship and has competed in the NCAAs. We hope our success this year will be the same as past years,” said Jabush.

Senior captain Kait Brogan has similar sentiments for the season, “We have a lot of talent and potential. Dedication, commitment, and leadership can account for the early success of our team,” said Brogan.

This weekend exhibited strong play from all members of the team. Ashley Barrow and Caroline Mosberg won in doubles 8-2 against Dickinson, Sara Fioretti and Jabusch won at two doubles, 8-2, and Brittany McBride and Addie Hinton won at three doubles, 8-1. In singles, Brogan won at one 6-3, 7-5.

The women’s team has a jam-packed season ahead of them, heading next to Chapman on Mar. 6.

“It’s a good balance between conference, regional, and national teams and we’re looking forward to the challenges ahead,” said Jabush.

The men’s tennis team has also been off to a strong start with a 2-0 record for the season so far, stacking up on victories over Kalamazoo and Kenyon.

“The team is more unified and have gotten rid of past hindrances. The team has done great and has really stepped up,” said junior captain Matt Miles.

“The Eagles scored doubles victories at two, with Matt Miles and Michael Fleming picking up an 8-5 victory, and at three, with a 9-7 win from Ryland Byrd and Moses Hutchison. That point would prove to be crucial in the team decision.” according to the team’s website about the Kenyon match.

Freshman Cole Reece has had the opportunity for some great experiences so far even just being a freshman.

“This past weekend we defeated Kenyon College and Kalamazoo College. The scheduling got backed up and we didn’t get on the court until late on Saturday night to play Kenyon. I didn’t get on court until 12:30 and it ended up coming down to my match. Everyone put up a big fight with big comebacks and positivity during the match. I ended up clinching the match for my team at 2 in the morning. It was an unreal experience especially as a freshman and this being my first collegiate dual match against a high ranked division 3 team. We all came together and fought really hard. It showed true toughness and grit in our team,” said Reece.

“Our performance as a team has been amazing as well but we all know that there is still plenty of room to improve and we know we can get a lot better. As a team we have all worked extremely hard in the fall season and during offseason. We are really hungry to make a run in the NCAA tournament so we have been working hard,” said Reece on the season ahead.

The men’s team also has a full schedule of play to look forward too this season. The team has a full weekend of tennis for next weekend at home. They will be hosting Sewanee, and Coe on Saturday, and Stevens on Sunday.