THE MEN WERE at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament. (file photo)It was a successful weekend of tennis for Rensselaer. The women’s team travelled to State University of New York Geneseo to play their second dual match of the season on Saturday. The Engineers beat the home team 7–2, which brought the team a 2–0 winning record. Geneseo had been undefeated before facing RPI. In No. 3 doubles, the doubles team of sophomores Erica Frommer and Andrea Valencia gave the Engineers the lead after winning their match 8–1. Later, in No. 1 doubles, the team of freshman Allie Kallish and junior Melanie Frank won their match 8–5, further broadening RPI’s lead. Finally, in No. 2 doubles, the duo of freshman Tess Lubin and sophomore Mailani Neal won their match 8–6, giving the Engineers a 3–0 lead. In singles, Kallish, Frommer, Valencia and Neal all won their matches in straight sets: 6–1, 6–1; 6–4, 6–1; 6–3, 6–0; and 6–0, 6–0, respectively. The Knights of SUNY Geneseo defeated the Engineers in No. 2 and No. 3 singles; Lubin fell to Pornpitaksuk 6–7 (3), 2–6, while Frank, fell to Susko 2–6, 0–6. Despite those defeats, RPI came out on top with an overall 7–2 score. Next weekend, the lady Engineers will travel to play at the Connecticut College Tournament.
Once again, after a successful day on the court, Kallish was honored by the Liberty League. She was named the Singles Performer of the Week in women’s tennis. Last week she was named Rookie of the Week.
The men’s team competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament this past weekend at Hobart College. The Engineers had a perfect 9–0 record in the first round of the tournament. Junior Tristan Wise made his way to the tournament’s singles quarterfinals while freshman Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez made his way to the semifinals. Castillo-Sanchez reached the finals in doubles along with partner freshman Zack Ebenfeld. In singles, Castillo-Sanchez and senior Stephen Baxter won their opening matches in love sets. Wise won his opening match 8–2 and Xavier Oshinowo ’20 won his 8–3. Oshinowo teamed up with Sundar Devakottai ’18 in doubles, they won their first-round match 8–1, while Castillo-Sanchez and Ebenfeld won theirs 8–2, advancing to the second round of competition, where they defeated the team from the University of Rochester 8–4. Castillo-Sanchez delivered once more, winning his second-round match against a player from The College of New Jersey. In the third round of competition, Castillo-Sanchez defeated his competitor 6–1, 6–0 to advance to the quarterfinals where he defeated his opponent 6–1, 6–1 and advanced to the semifinals. He was stopped in the semifinals by Leung of Skidmore College 4–6, 3–6. Wise beat James Hicks from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 6–1, 7–5 in the second round, but later lost in his third-round match 6–2, 6–2. Oshinowo lost after a long three-set match in the second round, 6–4, 2–6, 9–11.
The doubles team of Castillo-Sanchez and Ebenfeld advanced to the finals after winning their quarterfinal and semifinal matches 8–3, 8–6, respectively. Castillo-Sanchez and Ebenfeld went on to win their final match and become the tournament’s doubles champions. They made history at RPI, becoming the first to win an ITA Regional title, as well as the first National All-Americans in the program. After their win, they advanced to play at the ITA Oracle Cup, which will take place later this month in Surprise, Arizona.