The women and men hosted the Hamilton Colonials a couple of weeks ago and both teams were able to get another NESCAC win as they headed into the April break road trip. It was senior day for the women since it was their last home match. During the introductions, we honored senior captains Jean and Alex for all that they have done for this program. They played on teams that struggled to win matches early in their careers but learned from those experiences and this year they were the leaders on one of the most successful women’s tennis team in Bates history. Coach Gastonguay’s daughters presented Jean and Alex with flowers before the match and then it was time to get down to business. Alex teamed up with Meg to get the first win, 8-3, at #1 doubles. Katie and Erika followed that up with the second team point with an 8-5 win at #2 doubles. Nicole and Ashley completed the sweep of doubles with another 8-5 victory.
Katie and Ashley wasted no time in their singles matches clinching the victory for the Cats. Katie played one of her best matches of the season losing only one game, and Ashley frustrated her opponent with her aggressiveness at net, winning 6-2, 6-1. Meg went to a 10 point match tiebreak where she eventually prevailed 10-5 to get the sixth point. Finishing up the match with two more wins were Erika and Jean at #5 and #6. Both of them won pro sets. After the match, the parents had a great lunch prepared since it was the last home match for the women. The women could relax, have some food, and watch to see if the men’s team could duplicate their success.
This match against Hamilton was an important one because the guys had just gotten done with exams, it had been a long week, and it was a must win to insure our spot in the NESCAC tournament. The Cats could make their life much easier if they could get all three doubles’ points. They came out with good intensity and jumped right on the Colonials early at #1 and #3 doubles. Zach and Rob, who still hadn’t played a ton of matches together, looked as though they are starting to mesh well with a quick 8-2 win. Amrit and Bettles, trying to keep their hopes alive for a berth into the NCAA tournament, won 8-4. Jeff and Max, at #2 doubles, must really like all the attention on them because they seem to always play the longest matches. If they aren’t coming back from big deficits to get the win like they did at Denison, they are playing matches that go back and forth with plenty of drama. The Cats found a way to come through to secure the third team point with an 8-6 victory.
Since Hamilton had a long drive back home the match would only be played to decision which meant once one team reached five points all other matches would be suspended. With the Cats up 3-0 the win was in sight for the guys. Amrit was all business and won 6-0, 6-1. It was then a race to see who would clinch the 5th point since Max, Bettles, and Reiss had won their first sets with ease. It would be the freshman to come through and win his 8th singles match in a row as well as clinch the team victory. Both Max and Reiss were one game away from victory when their matches were stopped. Crampton and Fenno were obviously disappointed they would not get a chance to take the court, but knew they had a long week of tennis ahead of them.
These two matches were the start of an important week for the Bates tennis teams as they would travel down to New Jersey and Connecticut to play matches during April break. It was important to start the week of on a winning note and both teams did what they needed to do against the Colonials.
Bates College Tennis 