By: Zach Tolman
Staff Writer
The Springfield College women’s tennis team was able to capture their third consecutive win on
Tuesday afternoon, bashing Clark University 7-2 on the Appleton Courts. The win advanced Springfield to 4-3 overall on the season and 2-3 in conference play.
Springfield was able to clinch all the matches of the afternoon, excluding the No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Melanie Thulin and Ariana Shemms, who fell to 7-9. Freshman Rachel London played No. 1 singles against Clark senior Sarah Sachs.
London came out firing, taking the first set 6-1, but began to lose momentum towards the end of the second set, falling 5-7 and ultimately losing a close tie-breaker, 6-8, after numerous rallies.
Following the match, Clark head coach Helaine Vrana summed up the key to Sachs’ singles win.
“Mental toughness. She wasn’t playing real well in the first set. She turned it around and figured it out on her own,” said Vrana. “She knew she needed to move her feet and she needed to channel the mental toughness and needed to find her focus, and she did both.”
Looking past the two No. 1 slots (singles and doubles), Springfield appeared close to perfect on paper in all areas.
Senior captain Sydney Streimer defeated Phoebe Hughes 6-2, 6-0. Redeeming themselves after their doubles loss, both Thulin and Shemms were able to register clear-cut victories at 6-1, 6-3 for Thulin and 6-3, 6-1 for Shemms.
Slots five and six, filled out by freshman Stephanie Foster (6-1, 6-0) and junior Alanna Grady (6-1, 6-2) also contributed to the Pride’s success.
“As a team everyone really came to play today. Both of our losses were very close, coming down to the last point,” said Thulin, the reigning Female Maroon Club Athlete of the Week. “I feel that you can really see everyone on the team’s progress and hard work starting to pay off. It feels good to get a couple wins in a row and it is definitely motivation going forward.”
Springfield hopes to lengthen their road winning streak when they face Smith College next Tuesday.
Zach Tolman can be reached at ztolman@springfieldcollege.edu