Garnet Fall Short in Womens Tennis
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The Swarthmore women's tennis team fell to Centennial Conference contender Washington College Wednesday afternoon, with an unfortunate 6-3 decision on the campus of Swarthmore College.
Washington improved to (13-2, 5-1 CC), while Swarthmore fell (3-6, 2-2 CC).
Despite missing the Garnet senior captains Jennie Park (Rockford, Ill. / Guilford) and Marissa Lee (Cary, N.C. / Cary Academy) leading at the helm Alexia Hickman ’11 (Vienna, Va. / George C. Marshall) stepped up to the plate and had a great afternoon, securing wins in both singles and doubles play.
Wicked winds whipped through Faulkner Courts as the double’s matches ensued. Hickman and Kathryn Stockbower ’11 (Ft. Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) used skilled net play to seal an 8-5 victory over the Shorewomen at the No. 2 spot, and even out the overall score at 1-1.
With Rachel Wallwork ’10 (Washington, D.C. / Georgetown Day) and Luann Cignavitch ’11 (Charleston, S.C. / Porter-Gaud School) down a game in the double’s match, the duo capitalized on a steady forehand to break their opponents serve. In the thirteenth game, Wallwork delivered a noteworthy service game, only allowing her opponents a single point before taking the lead. Needing to break serve once again to capture the win, but Brittany Marshall and Jordan Finnegan evened the score. Cignavitch held her serve, but the Shorewomen would not relent. The No. 1 doubles match was pushed to a tiebreaker, where the Garnet ceded a 9-8(9) game.
Wallwork went on to soundly defeat her opponent 6-0, 6-4 at the No. 1 singles spot, even throwing in a 1-4 comeback in the second set to keep the spectators entertained. This win extends Wallwork’s Conference win streak to 14 matches in a row.
The epic match-up turned out to be at the No. 3 singles spot, where Hickman battled Carrie Palmer. Trailing early, Hickman overcame mounting frustration to power through the first set, hitting hard when necessary and utilizing the lob when fitting. Once she got through the initial tiebreaker, the match was hers to win. She came away with a well-earned 7-6(5), 6-3 victory.
The Garnet will finish out the week on road the road in Collegeville, Pa. to face Bears of Ursinus College. The match will begin at 1:00 pm.
Click here for FULL RESULTS.