Geneseo Knights Senior Day Sweep
Photo courtesy of Geneseo Knights
On Oct. 4, 2025, a Saturday afternoon, the Geneseo Knights beat the Alfred Saxons in a senior day sweep. Starting off the day with a ceremony for Emily Rowe, spirits were already high for the Knights as they got to celebrate their teammate and solo senior. She was joined by her family, and they were given the chance to celebrate all of the accomplishments she made during her time on the team.
All three doubles came out the gates, full speed ahead, and won all three points for the sweep. First doubles was composed of junior Natalie Pipes and sophomore Joann Catalano, who won with a score of 6-3. There was no surprise about the outcome of that match as Pipes and Catalano have won their past five matches with no competition.
The second doubles team of sophomore Rachel Molloy and junior Samantha Rava got the point for the Knights with a score of 6-2. Molloy has been playing outstandingly in recent matches, forcing her opponents to duck when faced with a shot from her forehand. Third doubles junior Talia Wutz and freshman Ashleigh Fredriksen started off rough, with several games going back and forth between the Knights and Saxons. But, once they pulled ahead, there was no looking back as they won 6-3.
Since doubles had been dealt with swiftly, it was time to move to singles action. First singles Natalie Pipes won yet again 6-3, 6-0. Initially, it looked as if it would be a close match, asPipes was down 2-3 during the first set. But, after realizing that enough was enough, she did not allow her opponent to win another game. Pipes closed off a majority of the points with winners. Samantha Rava also won at second singles with a score of 6-0, 6-1.
Rachel Molloy won at third singles 6-0, 6-4, ensuring that her match did not go into a third set. Joann Catalano also only dropped four games collectively with a score of 6-3, 6-1. Additionally, both Molloy and Catalano are the only sophomores who are currently in the starting lineup. They show enormous potential and give promise that the Knights will have several great seasons to come.
At fifth singles, freshman Lauren Levitano won 6-1, 6-0. Levitano was 2-0 for the weekend with both matches that the Knights had played. While at sixth singles, Talia Wutz won 6-3, 6-0. Wutz showed great tenacity as she had also won a hard-fought match against St. John Fisher the night before. Any spectator that was watching would be unable to tell that Wutz had had such a rigorous match the previous night, as she played with the same intensity as she does every match.
The Senior Day victory seated the Knights in second place in the Empire 8 conference. Not only did this victory give Natalie Pipes the accolade of singles player of the week, it also gave her and her partner, Joann Catalano, the doubles team of the week for the second time this season. They are currently 5-1 and will play Brockport on Wednesday and Russell Sage on Saturday for their final matches of the season. These matches will determine when they will play in the Empire 8 playoffs the following week.