For a young team, the RPI women’s tennis is having a very good year. As the team reached toward the end of the season, it found itself 5-3 in dual matches and 7-4 overall going into Tuesday’s match against Union College.
Led by junior co-captain Lydia Lindhult and sophomore co-captain Erica Sherman, the team has posted wins over such schools as Hartwick and Stevens Tech. This past week, they faced daunting competitors in SUNY New Paltz and Plattsburgh State.
The RPI women traveled to New Paltz on Friday following a tough 9-0 loss to Hamilton earlier in the week. New Paltz, which is not part of the Liberty League, proved a formidable foe. Though freshman Progga Das and her teammate Sherman were able to secure a win at first doubles, RPI faltered in the remaining two doubles contests. When the usual cast of six singles players took the court, a similar result occurred. New Paltz’s Eri Yamakawa fought Lindhult to a 6-4, 6-4 decision at first singles, and Dana Lym produced similar results for the SUNY campus at second singles. All in all, RPI succeeded only at third and fourth singles, with freshman Kristin Weiss and Sherman posting convincing wins. This produced the final score of 6-3, with New Paltz advancing to 8-1 overall.
Sunday’s matchup with Plattsburgh State provided an opportunity for the team to redeem itself. Head Coach Carol Pillsworth decided to give most of the team the day off on Saturday, allowing them to rest up for a good performance the following day. Scheduled for a noon start, the match would be played in relatively warm autumn conditions with the on-court temperature hovering around 80 degrees.
The doubles teams got the match rolling in RPI’s favor with wins at first and second. The only loss came at third doubles, with freshman Becky Marus and sophomore Shani Gil falling 8-4 in a tough contest. Once the singles lineup took the court, however, any doubts of how the match would turn out were erased.
Das eliminated Plattsburgh State’s Justine Higgins in short order, 6-0, 6-0. Sherman and Weiss followed with 6-2, 6-3 and 6-1, 6-2 wins at third and fourth singles, respectively. This secured the match for Rensselaer in just over two hours. Shortly after the ribbon had been cut, though, RPI began to lose its steam. Lindhult’s health forced her to retire down 1-4 in the third set against Plattsburgh State’s Valerie Papi. She and Coach Pillsworth determined that it wasn’t worth pushing her exhaustion any further since the match had already been decided. Andrea Dalton then secured a sixth point for RPI at fifth singles, and the match was rounded out by an also-ill Charlotte Kaplan falling to Plattsburgh’s Heather Jones 6-4, 6-4. Jones put up quite an effort, but in the end would fall on a series of forehand and backhand errors into the net.
Tuesday night, October 4, the Engineers fell 5-4 in a heartbreaker to rival Union on the Sharp Courts. Sherman and Dalton accounted for all four of RPI’s points, winning their singles matches in striaght sets 6-4, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-1, respectively. In the doubles matches Sherman combined with Das to cruise to a 8-3 win, while Sherman and Lindhult were forced to battle through a tiebreaker. The pair eventually won 9-8 (5). The loss to Union concluded RPI’s last regular season dual match for the Engineers.
Only two events remain on the schedule for the RPI women: the Liberty League Championships this weekend and the New York State Championship the following weekend. Pillsworth hopes for a good showing at the Liberty League Championships this weekend, and believes that the state tournament will be a great opportunity for the team to play at Cornell University’s world-class tennis facility.
Pillsworth also noted that as this is a growing year for the team. She has tried to give everyone as much experience as possible. This was her main reasoning for not having the team attend the ITA Championships in late September, as they would have required a lengthy road trip to Maine and would only have provided the opportunity for three of the team’s members to compete. Instead, a round robin doubles event was held with the men’s team.
“We have to get them seasoned. … We have to put them where it counts,” according to Pillsworth. “You can’t do it overnight.”
