Suffolk University’s women’s tennis team put their five match win streak to the test on Oct. 11 against Johnson & Wales University. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) fourth ranked Lady Rams fell short of the conference’s top team, the Wildcats.
The Rams came off of a 7-2 win Saturday, Oct. 7, against St. Joseph’s College in Connecticut to extend their win-streak to five. Not only did they win against St. Joseph’s, but also they had been beating almost all of their opponents in a convincing fashion.
The Lady Rams topped Lesley University on two separate occasions with scores of 8-1 on Thursday, Sept. 28, and 7-2 on Monday Oct. 2. Additionally, Suffolk handled Albertus Magnus College with a score of 7-2. They snuck past Salve Regina University in a tight 5-4 win showing the toughness and resiliency of the Lady Rams. This streak was even more impressive as four out of the five matches were on the road.
“The ladies all believed in their games and stayed mentally tough on the court to get us on that five game role,” said first year coach Matt Tiberii in a recent interview with The Suffolk Journal.
The powerhouse Wildcats, however, were a standout team themselves, ranking first place in the GNAC and thus were not intimidated by the Lady Rams recent hot-streak.
The Lady Rams came into the Wednesday, Oct. 11 matchup against the top team in the GNAC flying high on their five match win streak and were ready to put that to the test against their toughest competition.
“Going into matches with a game plan and tactics is definitely one of the reasons why my team and I were so successful in getting those wins,” said junior Elena Cisneros Garcia.
This match, however, started off on the wrong foot and never turned around. The Wildcats came out strong, finishing the doubles courts up 3-0 over the Lady Rams. The Lady Ram tandem of sophomore Danlyn Medou and freshman Ahilya Malhourta battled through, coming up just short in a 9-7 set to round off doubles.
The Lady Rams could not dig themselves out of the 3-0 hole dropping all six single sets to lose the match 9-0, ending their five match win streak.
“Wednesday’s loss will only help us grow as a team. They were the best team in the conference and they showed us why,” said Tiberii.
The Lady Rams liked their chances heading into the match with the Simmons College Sharks but could not come away with a victory, losing their final match of the regular season 6-3.
“We need to stay positive, talk as a team, and just focus on the match and try to redeem ourselves,” said Cisneros Garcia. “Simmons will be a very even match, they are doing more or less the same as us in terms of wins and they have always been a good opponent, it’s always close but we feel our chances are good.”
Cisneros Garcia also discussed mental toughness.
“Personally, I improved a lot in the mental game which has a huge part in tennis. In women’s tennis, smart play and mental strength is huge. Keep fighting, take it point by point, and don’t give up,” said Cisneros Garcia.
Saturday was the last home match of the regular season, which means seniors Jacquelyn Nakamura and Isabel Rathlev played in their last regular season match at home. This made for an emotional match.
The Lady Rams fell short of the Simmons College Sharks with a score of 6-3 on Saturday morning at North Reading High School, dropping their final regular season record to 7-6. The women’s tennis team took the fourth seed for the GNAC Championship tournament, where they will play the first round Wednesday.
