Following two consecutive victories last week, women’s tennis was handed a drubbing in the first round of the UCAA Championships, held this weekend, before going on to do well in the consolation matches. RPI finished fifth overall in the tournament.
The sixth-seeded Engineers opened the championships against third seed Rochester, who dominated RPI in all five singles matches and eliminated them before the doubles teams even had a chance to take the court. Combined, Alexandra Koch, Michelle Casey, Kristin Powers, Jessica DePalma, and Florine Cannelle won only 13 games over the five matches, and all of them were beaten in straight sets.
The first consolation round went far better for the Engineers, with No. 5 and No. 6 singles Cannelle and Raimi Ishikawa defeating their Union opponents, and the doubles teams of Koch-Casey, Powers-Victoria Gardner, and Cannelle-DePalma all winning their matches to take the round against the Union Dutchwomen, 5-1.
In the matchup for fifth place, Rensselaer faced eighth seed St. Lawrence, whom they dispatched in prompt fashion, 5-0. Cannelle and Ishikawa handily won their singles matches once again, and the three doubles teams all won to secure the fifth place finish for the Engineers. Koch, Casey, and Powers were all leading their singles matches one set to none when play was stopped because RPI had earned their fourth and fifth (and deciding) points from Cannelle and Ishikawa’s victories.
Earlier in the week, the Red Hawks defeated Union in a regular-season meet for the first time in 15 years. Gardner and Powers teamed to win their doubles match 8-6, but the other two doubles matches went to Union. However, Powers, DePalma, Cannelle, and Ishikawa were all outstanding in their singles matches—DePalma winning her match with poise under pressure in a 7-5 third set—to give RPI the stunning 5-4 victory over a Union team that had beaten them time and again for the past decade and a half.
The victory in the UCAA tournament less than a week later proved the win was more than merely a fluke, and finally—after years of defeat—RPI had broken Union’s dominance and suddenly turned themselves into a powerhouse in upstate New York women’s tennis.
RPI also took on Hartwick last week in a regular season meet, destroying the Hawks 9-0. All six singles matches were won in straight sets, and the three doubles matches were won by a combined game score of 24-5. The first doubles team of Koch and Casey shut out their Hartwick opponents eight games to none.
The first-round tournament loss to Rochester was the first match loss all year for the Engineers, who went into the UCAA Championship with a 6-0 record overall. The women’s tennis squad ends its 2001 season this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the New York State Championships.
