Geneseo Tennis Loses to Hartwick in Empire 8 Finals
Photo courtesy of Geneseo Knights
Over the past weekend, the Knights faced both the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Friday in the semi-finals and the Hartwick Hawks for the championship on Saturday afternoon. Although they easily defeated Nazareth on Friday, they were unable to secure the championship over Hartwick, losing 1-4.
When the Knights returned for the match on Saturday against the Hawks, they came ready to play. Hartwick had already beaten them in the finals last season, the Knights wanted revenge. Unfortunately, this was not the case as the Knights struggled in the early stages of the match, losing two out of three doubles.
At first doubles, junior Natalie Pipes and sophomore Joann Catalano fell to the Hawks 2-6. Second doubles did not work out any better for the pair of sophomore Rachel Molloy and junior Samantha Rava, as they lost 1-6. Since the match was in a clinch format and because the Hawks had already won two out of three for the doubles, third doubles junior Talia Wutz and freshman Ashleigh Fredriksen did not have a chance to finish their match, ending at a score of 1-5.
The Knights kept their hopes high as they moved into singles with the opportunity to win still in sight. They would have to win four out of six singles in order to obtain the Empire 8 crown. All the Knights went to their respective courts with this goal in mind.
At first singles, it is no surprise that junior Natalie Pipes won her match and proved to be the best in the Empire 8 conference, winning 6-2, 7-5. Pipes was undefeated in conference play, not just for the regular season, but for the playoffs as well. Pipes’s win gave the Knights a fighting chance to win, but unfortunately, it was the only point the Knights would receive for the match.
At third and fourth singles, Rachel Molloy and Joann Catalano each lost their respective matches. Molloy lost 2-6, 2-6, while Catalano had an additional game but still fell short at 2-6, 3-6. Even though they lost their matches on Saturday, they both had phenomenal seasons, with Molloy only having three losses during the season, while Catalano only lost twice in singles.
In second singles, Samantha Rava fell short of a win and gave the Knights their final nail in the coffin, taking away their shot at winning against the Hawks. After three sets, the score ended 1-6, 6-1, 1-6.
Due to the deciding point having already been put in place, fifth singles freshman Lauren Levitano didn’t have to finish her match, although she was winning 7-5 and was about to begin her second set before the match ended. At sixth singles, Talia Wutz was absolutely dominating her opponent and was ahead 6-2, 4-0.
The Knights ended at 9-2 in conference play for the season and also solidified a ranking in second place. They will come back next season ready to beat Hartwick and look forward to winning the Empire 8 championship.