Women's Tennis Streak Halted in Trinity Romp

Author: David Lindholm

It was a weekend full of Middlebury women's tennis as the team hosted the 13th Annual Middlebury College Invitational. The Panthers thoroughly dominated the action, having a player in each of the finals, both for singles and doubles. Earlier in the week, the Middlebury women dropped their first match of the spring season, coming out on the short end of a 5-2 decision against the hosting Trinity College.

The highlight of the week was certainly the Middlebury Invitational, where all Middlebury players had a strong showing, and the final of the "A" singles flight being an all-Panther affair. Sandy Spring '04 came out ahead of her teammate Lauren Ready '05 despite an early charge by the first-year, and Spring came away winning the match by a score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.

In the final of the "B" flight, Kristin Baker '04 performed well but fell just short of winning, taking the first set 6-2 before losing the next two 6-0. The final of the "C" flight was won by Nina Popel '04, easily taking the final by scores of 6-4 and 6-0.

There was more of the same in the doubles competitions, with the Middlebury pairing of Spring and Popel winning the "A" flight 8-4, sophomores Jena Siegel and Libby Meyers falling in the "B", 8-3, and the "C" title match being played this week between two Middlebury pairings.

Against Trinity, the team was looking for an upset as they faced a team ranked 13th in the country. The Panthers, ranked 22nd overall, were dominated by a strong Bantam team that won every singles match that was finished. Some of the matches were abandoned after the final result was no longer in doubt, and in the end it was a 5-2 score that went to Trinity, with the Panthers winning two doubles matches.

The loss was the first for the Panthers in their last nine matches dating back to the fall, and the team now owns a still outstanding 6-1 record in the spring.

Now the team looks toward a match at Mt. Holyoke on Wednesday, followed by the Showcase Tournament on the weekend. With both confidence boosters and still competition found this past week, the team is sure to be ready.