Photo Courtesy of Maddy Lanning
By Griffen Erdley, Contributing Writer
It was a successful week for both of Susquehanna’s men’s and women’s tennis squads, each capturing pairs of dominant wins against Lycoming and Penn College.
The action began Tuesday, September 14 when the Men’s team started their season against the Lycoming Warriors.
Senior Emil Vyskocil won the first singles match by putting up scores of 6-3 and 6-1, followed by winning the first doubles match with junior Conor Ryan. Their doubles match was a close one, but they were able to secure the victory, posting a final of 8-7 in favor of the River Hawks.
Junior Joshua Sanderson won the second singles match by opponent retirement after building an early lead. He and fellow junior John Duncan won the second doubles match by a score of 8-1.
In the third singles match, sophomore Tim Basta had put on a good match but ultimately lost. He helped give the River Hawks a victory in the third doubles match with senior Ethan Cooley in an 8-2 win.
The fourth singles match went in favor of Duncan, who won with scores of 6-0 and 6-2. Sophomore’s Kyle Wagner and Carson Barry were both able to lock up wins in the remaining singles matches. SU would finish the day by winning 8 out of the 9 total matches.
The Men’s team then followed up with an impressive win against Penn College, winning 8 of 9 matches once again, on Saturday, September 18.
The River Hawks put on an impressive performance for their singles matches, taking all six in their favor. Vyskocil won the first singles 6-2 and 6-3. Sanderson won his sets by a score of 6-3 and 6-2. It was smooth sailing for Duncan in the third singles, winning the sets 6-1 and 6-2. Same could be said for Basta who put up 6-1 totals in each of his sets in the fourth singles match. Cooley and Wagner both shutout their opponents in the #5 and #6 singles with scores of 6-0 and 6-0.
Susquehanna dropped the first doubles match. Barry and Ryan came just short with an 8-3 loss. However, the River Hawks followed up with two victories in the second and third doubles. Juniors Sam Sidle and Justin Mahoney won the second by a score of 8-6, while senior Jake Kittleberger and first-year Eli Markle easily won 8-0.
Vyskocil said: “It feels really good to start the season with wins against two very tough teams, these two wins are a great way to start building momentum for the year. I think these two wins have boosted everyone’s confidence a bit, but we all know that we just have to keep on playing our game and not get too confident. I am proud so far with the team’s performance, these two matches showed that everyone on the team has trained over the summer.”
The Susquehanna’s Women’s Tennis team started the year with a strong first match against Lycoming College on Thursday, September 16, winning 8-1.
The doubles matches saw three victories from the River Hawks. Seniors Ashlynn Searer and Haley White combined for a dominating win, scoring 8-2 in the first doubles match. Senior Anna Ream and junior Chelsea Kneedler won their match by a score of 8-6, securing the second double, while Sophomores Julie Bramley and Isabella Scappaticci won the third match with a score of 8-3.
The singles matches saw just as much success when Searer and Bramley each earned a win. Searer downed her competition 6-1 and 6-0, while Bramley continued with winning numbers of 6-2 and 6-1.
Ream and her opponent went the distance in the third singles match where it went to a 10-point tiebreaker. Ream won the tiebreaking third set 10-2 and grabbed the 8-1 team win. The fourth singles ended in favor of the River Hawks when Scappaticci won 6-2 and 6-1, reminiscent of Searer and Bramley. The fifth singles went in favor of Lycoming’s Rei Saar who beat junior Eliza Mahoney 6-3 and 6-2. The final singles match went Susquehanna’s way with a 6-2 and 6-0 win by Kneedler.
The Women’s team then went on to compete against Penn College on Saturday, September 18.
The team swept the competition in the doubles, taking all three matches in dominating fashion. The first doubles had Searer and White handedly winning 8-1. The other two matches ended with 8-0 wins for the River Hawks, secured by Kneedler and Ream in the second match, while Bramley and Scappaticci took the third.
Searer began with a victory in the first singles match with a clean 6-0, 6-0 win. The second singles was won by Bramley with totals of 6-1 and 6-0. Scappaticci took the third, winning 6-0 and then 6-1. Junior Kristen Bair won the fifth singles 6-0, 6-0, and Kneedler won by default. The only defeat for the River Hawks came in the fourth singles with Mahoney falling to Delaney Bouton of Penn College 6-1 and 6-0.
Anna Ream said: “It feels very good starting off the season that way. I’m honestly just glad to be back playing tennis with my team. The wins have really boosted the overall experience. I love tennis, practicing with my teammates, and being able to play competitively at the collegiate level, and the wins have added to the sensation. I was very pleased with our performance overall. We are a pretty tight-knit team, and we all work so hard in preparation for the season. Everyone has been playing so well and battling in each match. Regardless of the outcome, I know we are all trying our best and I am excited to see where this season takes us.”
Both teams will be back in action when they go to Dallas, PA, to take on Misericordia University September 21.
