Knights Tennis Slay the Cortland Dragons
Photo courtesy of GeneseoKnights
After a gritty comeback over SUNY Cortland on Tuesday afternoon, the Geneseo women’s tennis team secured a 5-2 victory and their first conference win of the season.
On Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 the Geneseo women’s tennis team beat the Cortland Dragons in a turnaround victory. The final score ended at 5-2 with a standout performance from the singles region.
At the beginning of the match, the doubles had a rocky start, with the Knights only winning one out of three doubles sets. For first doubles, Rachel Molloy and Samantha Rava failed to secure a win, losing 4-6. Additionally, Talia Wutz and Ashleigh Fredriksen lost 1-6 to the Dragons. Both losses created a setback for the Knights.
Even so, for the doubles win, Natalie Pipes and Joann Catalano dominated the competition by winning the second doubles set. Throughout the set, Pipes had several volleys that could not be returned, and Catalano was a serving machine. The power duo only allowed three games for Cortland to score.The Knights knew they would have to pick up the slack after falling behind earlier, so they moved to singles with a take-all mindset. Cortland was not prepared for the perseverance of the Knights and the loss they were about to take.
Freshman Lauren Levitano had a standout performance, claiming her first win as a Knight at sixth singles. She won easily 6-2, 6-1 in two straight sets. Although she is only a first-year student, Levitano played like a veteran and helped the Knights get back on track.
At fifth singles, Talia Wutz kept the winning mentality alive, flying through two sets 6-1, 6-1. Through consistency, Wutz was able to beat her opponent and add another win to the Knights’ scoreboard. All the while, Joann Catalano had no mercy at fourth singles and controlled the court for the entire match. With a score of 6-0, 6-0, Catalano did not leave any room for error, winning swiftly and efficiently.
The Knights were finally starting to make a comeback, but they still had work to do if they wanted to win the entire match. They would need at least two more singles wins if they wanted to take their first conference win of the season.
Natalie Pipes lost a hard-fought battle in first singles. She lost the first set 3-6, but had a major comeback in the second set, winning 6-4. Since the match had already been decided, a 10-point tiebreaker was the deciding factor. Ultimately, Pipes fell just short 4-10. Samantha Rava also won with a score of 6-2, 6-2 at second singles.
Even though the Knights had now secured a win, Rachel Molloy kept the intensity high. She fought tenaciously in the first set for a 7-5 win. After Molloy won the first, she crushed her opponent in the second set with a score of 6-1. Equipped with a monster forehand and impossible drop shots, Molloy is always a consistent player and a tough opponent to face.
The win against Cortland gave the Knights their first conference win of the season and serious confidence for future matches. Even though the doubles fell short, knights always slay dragons, so the outcome was inevitable. Come see the Knights for future matches and show some support!