To kick off their spring season, the Hamilton College women’s tennis team went 1–1 in early March with a loss to #6 Middlebury College (9–0) and a win over #40 Colby College (6–3). With hopes of building off of their win against the Mules, the team headed to Lake Nona, F.L., for a series of games over spring break.
On Wednesday, March 20, the team took on Illinois Tech in their first match down south. The Continentals took five of the six matches from the Scarlet Hawks, as Jane Haffer ’19, Kat Roberts ’22, and Ajla Karabegovic ’21 won both their singles and doubles matches. Other noteworthy performances included that of Audrey Chor ’21 who won at second flight singles, Becca Ingber ’22, who was able to win in straight sets at sixth flight singles, and Sarah Bargamian ’22 who won at third flight doubles with Haffer as her partner.
The following day, the Continentals competed against both the Colorado College Prowlers and the Bethel University Lions. The team was able to
defeat the Prowlers 9–0 as Roberts, Karabegovic and Baramian won every single game in their fourth, fifth and sixth flight matches respectively. Sophia Aulicino ’21 won every game in her first flight match except for one. Chor and Haffer were also successful as they won their single matches as well.
For Haffer, this win marked her 37th singles win of her career at Hamilton. Haffer, who was paired with Ingber, and Bargamian, who was paired with Chor, were able to secure the victory over Colorado College as they both won their doubles matches. Though the team wasn’t as successful against Bethel, Roberts was able to win at fourth flight singles as the Continentals’ only winner. She ended Thursday having won all three of her matches.
On their last day, the team ended their road trip with a victory. In the 8–1 win against Whitworth University, the team earned three single victories in three sets. Aulicino, Chor, Roberts, and Karabegovic were all able to win both of their singles and doubles matches. Haffer won all of her games at third flight singles, while Ingber recorded a three-set victory at sixth flight singles.
Coming back from spring break, the team was excited to sport an overall winning record of 4–2. “We had a pretty productive spring break,” said Aulicino.
Aulicino added: “I believe all the girls are focused and determined to play and compete to the best of our abilities. We really bonded in Florida and I think the appreciation and respect we have for one another really motivates us to play our best tennis.
“We have come a long way from last season, from barely having enough girls to make a team to now where we are actively competing and beating teams we lost to last year.”
Haffer, the team’s captain, also commented on the success the team had down in Florida. “The team is super young and spring break brought us closer together,” she said. “It was really exciting to have such a successful spring training trip and then come back to Clinton and find out
that we were ranked #15 in the region and that one of our sophomores, Sophia Aulicino, is also ranked. As a captain, I couldn’t be more proud of my team and the work these girls are putting in every day, on and off the court.”
The team looks to take this momentum into their upcoming matches in April.
Their next match is on Thursday, April 4, at Union College. The next home match is scheduled for Saturday, April 6, at 11:30 AM against Rochester Institute of Technology and is the Children’s Heart Awareness Match.
