Sports

Photo by Lili Christie '19
Photo by Lili Christie '19

Men’s and women’s tennis teams host Colby College in conference competition

By Robert Berk ’20

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This weekend the Hamilton tennis teams took on the Colby College Mules. Playing at home on the Gray Courts, the men’s tennis team fell to #29 Colby College, a NESCAC rival, on April 9. It was a tough loss, as the match score read 8-1 in favor of the Mules. 

The sole win for the Continentals came at the second doubles position. Sam Farber ’20 and Max McKee-Proctor ’17 won their sixth match out of their last seven matches at this slot. Their match was very intense. Farber and McKee-Proctor won 9-8. Farber had a successful fall season and has continued into the spring at first singles. Unfortunately, Farber lost his single match 6-4, 6-0. When speaking with Farber about the match he said, “Even though we lost the match overall, it was a great feeling to pull out a victory with Max [McKee-Proctor] in doubles on Senior Day, especially against a ranked team.”

McKee-Proctor also lost his match in the second singles. Both of the sets yielded game scores of 6-3. Burke Paxton ’17 lost his match in two games, 6-3 and 6-2. Eyad Nagori ’18 has been successful in singles in his career: his career record is 13-7. This weekend, however, he lost in two sets, only claiming one game over the both sets. The scores were 6-0 and 6-1. The fifth singles match was the only to go to three sets. Jon Cohen ’17 won the first set 4-6, but his opponent roared back to win the second 6-2. The tiebreaker set was back and forth with Colby pulling away to win 10-7. Lars Scannell ’19 lost his match in fifth singles, dropping the only set played 6-4. Scannell and Nagori lost the first doubles match 8-4. Devin White ’17 and Cohen lost their third doubles match, also 8-4. 

The loss dropped Hamilton’s men’s record to 5-11 overall and 0-4 in conference. This match was the last home match for the Continentals. Hamilton honored their five seniors: McKee-Proctor, Cohen, Paxton, Jack Vissicchio ’17, and White. The Continentals are off until April 22 when they play Tufts University in a NESCAC match.   

The women’s team emerged victorious against the Mules in their home match on Sunday, April 9, defeating them in a 5-4 decision. The Lady Continentals came away with two set wins at first, second and third singles as well as tight pro set victories at first and second doubles.

Winnie Tang ’17 claimed her eighth win of the season. She won in straight sets 6-4 and then 6-0.  Claire Keyte ’17 notched her seventh victory. She also won in two sets 6-2, 6-0. Samantha Weeks ’19 pulled even with Jane Haffer ’19 to lead the team in overall wins on the season at 10. This weekend Haffer lost 6-1, 6-2 while Weeks won 6-2 in both sets.

Claudia Morse ’19 and Iona Forrester ’20 put up valiant efforts against their Mule opponents, but were unable to secure wins in the fifth and sixth singles positions. Morse lost 6-1 and 6-0. Forrester’s first set was close, but she lost with a final score 7-6. The second set was not nearly as close as the final was 6-1.

Tang and Haffer topped a tough pair from Colby at first doubles. The score of the doubles match was 8-6. Keyte and Weeks followed suit in a nail-biting victory at second doubles and won 9-8. With this victory, Weeks extends her career record in wins at doubles to 56. Morse and Forrester again put up a fight for the Continentals, this time as a duo in the third doubles slot.

Hamilton is now 8-4 overall and 1-3 in NESCAC play, pulling them into a tie with Colby.  Their next match is a non-conference draw with St. Lawrence University on Wednesday, April 12 at 4:00 p.m. Saturday the 15 they will travel to play against Ithaca College, before returning home to face William Smith College on April 19. That is their last home match of the season. 

They wrap up with three NESCAC matches on the road against Tufts, Amherst and Connecticut College. Both Tufts and Amherst are among the top-ranked teams in the nation for Divison III women’s tennis. Amherst sits at 11th in the most recent NCAA poll, possessing a 13-3 overall record, while Tufts has cracked the top-10 at seventh. Connecticut College has struggled this season and is currently winless in conference play.

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