Drew Wemple
The women’s tennis team came to play last Wednesday, Sept. 22, at home, sweeping Castleton University 9-0. This was a monumental win for the ladies, as it snapped their
5-match long losing streak that dated back to Sept. 4.
The Castleton Spartans traveled to SUNY Plattsburgh seeking to continue to deter the Lady Cardinals from returning to winning form. It was a beautiful, sunny day on the Memorial Tennis courts and a buzz of energy and anticipation filled the atmosphere for this must-win match for the Cardinals.
It started with the doubles matches. In the number one spot, Plattsburgh junior Cydney Bond and senior Sarah Hoeffner matched up with Castleton’s Regina Marchese and Grace Sharkey. The Plattsburgh duo squeezed out a win 8-6 in the No.1 doubles match, which would wind up setting the tone for the remainder of the event. In the number two doubles
match, the Lady Cardinals prevailed again, with Alyana Leandry a junior, and Jacqueline Svantner a sophomore, defeating Castleton’s Megan Hunt and Makayla Boisvert by a score of 8-5. The number three doubles match was far less close than the other two as Plattsburgh sisters Samantha and Nicole Svantner, both sophomores defeated Megan Brier and Kayon Morgan by a dominant score of 8-1.
“We were matched very well with our competitors and we were able to read each other on the court very well,” Samantha Svantner said, about her doubles match. “We were trying a lot of new shots that worked for us, which was very nice.”
The match transitioned into singles play and Plattsburgh didn’t skip a beat. The No.1 singles match was the closest of the six, with Bond going into extra sets with Castleton’s Regina Marchese. Their first set Bond dominated, winning 6-2 but in the second set, Bond had to dig deeper taking her opponent into extra sets before winning their 7-2. It seemed that the Cardinal’s felt the importance of this match, and never took their foot off the gas. In singles match No.2, Plattsburgh’s Alyana Leandry drubbed her opponent Megan Hunt 6-2 in both sets giving the Lady Cardinals a commanding 5-0 lead thus far.
Things only continued to get worse for Castleton, as in the third singles match, Sara Hoeffner put together a fantastic two sets winning 6-0 and then 6-1. Samantha Svantner won next, in the No.4 singles match, beating Castleton’s Megan Brier 6-0 in the first set and then 6-1 in the second. With this win, Samantha put herself on a 2-singles match win streak.
“It’s definitely very nice, Samantha said. “It’s nice to have a win to see that your work is actually showing in the match and the score.”
In the final two singles matches, the dominance of Plattsburgh only continued, with Nicole Svantner defeating Makayla Boisvert 6-2 in both sets. In the final singles match Sophia
Gotschall swept Kayon Morgan 6-0 in both sets to clinch the match 9-0 for the final.
Moving forward, the tennis team’s record is now 2-5 with matches against Northern Vermont University- Lyndon on Tuesday, Sept. 28. SUNY Plattsburgh will stay in its friendly confines of the Memorial tennis courts for its next 3 matches, hoping to build on their impressive win vs. Castleton.
“We’re definitely still working hard. We’re very positive, very nice to each other.” Samantha said. “We’re experimenting. We’re keeping what works and we’re trying a lot of new things.”
