Sports

Tennis teams prepare for continued success

By Tucker Hamlin ’17

While temperatures are hovering in the single digits and spring seems so far away, the tennis program is beginning training for their upcoming spring season. On the men’s team, captains Matt Billet ’15 and James Oliver ’15 lead a squad that has won nine matches each the last two seasons. Along with the captains, Ian Antonoff ’16, who went 13-10 last season, and Jon Cohen ’17 look to add depth to the singles lineup this spring. On the doubles court, Austin Lokre ’16 and Max Mckee-Proctor ’17 are coming off a record-setting doubles campaign in the 2014 season, when they tied the school record with 14 doubles victories and will look to have a repeat performance this season.

The men’s team has two first-years, Eyad Nagori and Alex Streich, who will compete with Devin White ’17, Jack Vissicchio ’17 and Burke Paxton ’17 for the final singles spot. Billet expressed his praise for the first years saying, “Eyad and Alex are hard working, committed and driven to succeed.” Billet continued, “I think their talent and positive energy will definitely contribute to our starting lineup.”

As the season begins in only a few short weeks, Jon Cohen ’17 expressed his excitement, saying, “This spring should be the best season the tennis team has had in a long time as many of the younger players are coming into their own.” Cohen continued, “I expect to compete against most of the NESCAC schools we play this year and if we have a good spring break trip we could find ourselves in the top 25 in the country.”

Billet reiterated Cohen’s sentiment, saying, “It’s nice to have Ian back from abroad and all of us put a lot of work in the offseason. I feel [as] if the team is as close as ever and I believe we have the team to string a couple of important wins.”

The Continentals begin their spring campaign on March 14 against NESCAC rival Colby before playing four non-conferance matches in Orlando, Florida over spring break.

On the women’s team, the Continentals will look to improve from last year’s season in which they finished with an overall record of 14-6 and 15th in the DIII Northeast Regional Top 20 poll. The Continentals’ 14 wins were a program record for the women.

Heading into the season, Isabella Schoning ’16 looks to lead the team after her 16-6 record last year. Schoning and Winnie Tang ’17 also posted an 11-6 record as a doubles team. The women are an experienced team with Rachel Friedman ’15, Mira Khanna ’15, Liz Detwiler ’15 and Anna Jaeger ’15 leading the Continentals. 

Khanna discussed the mentality of the team, saying, “We don’t have any first-years or new players and almost half of the team consists of seniors, so we are quite familiar with each other.” Khanna continued, “I think [our experience] is going to be particularly useful when it comes to our doubles, which really contributed to our success last year. We are much stronger and more experienced as a team, and I think everyone’s really excited to see how things play out.

With practices underway and matches soon to come, Friedman looks to improve upon her 13-7 record posted last season. Similarly, on the doubles court, Claire Keyte ’17 and Khanna, who went 10-6 a year ago, will be trying to make a statement as they help the Continentals throughout the season.

Friedman expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming season: “This season we’re lucky to have almost everyone returning from last year. We’re looking to have another equally successful season, hopefully maintaining or improving upon our regional ranking.”

Led by Coach Rob Barr, the women are already 5-0 after a strong showing in the fall featuring an 8-1 victory over Union. The spring schedule includes 17 matches starting with Colby on March 15. When the team travels to Orlando for spring break, they will take on Franklin & Marshall, Goucher, SUNY New Paltz, Hope and St. Lawrence before returning home to take on SUNY Oneonta.

All Sports