The men’s tennis team (3-5 overall) and women’s tennis team (5-4 overall) had another packed schedule last weekend. The women’s team fell 6-1 to Delaware State University on Saturday but rebounded to beat Le Moyne College 4-3 the next day while the men’s team fell to Le Moyne 6-1 on Sunday.
On the women’s side of the action, sophomore Carmen Merkel and freshman Hanna Ganchi bested their Le Moyne opponents 6-2 in doubles, while junior Olivia Boeckman and sophomore Alyssa Perdomo won 7-5 to claim the doubles point.
“I think doubles-wise we’ve been very solid,” Merkel said. “It’s been really exciting to get that point, and feel like we’ve started to figure it out.”
The team also had numerous singles wins, including Perdomo winning by forfeit, Ganchi winning 6-2 6-2 and Boeckman claiming a 7-6 (5) 6-1 victory. Part of the team’s success came from the excitement of its first outdoor home match.
“We were pumped to finally be outside,” Merkel said. “We are home more this year, so we are really excited for the good vibes from people who come to watch especially during our conference matches.”
Before Sunday’s matchup, the Leopards had played all of their games indoors at racquet clubs all across the Lehigh Valley.
The men’s team was not able to replicate the women’s success against Le Moyne, going through doubles matches without a win. It was more of the same in singles play as the Leopards’ top three players could not tally a point.
Four of the matches were taken to the third set match tie-break, of which the Leopards dropped three out of four. Freshman Derrin Lerner was the only member of the team to muster a victory, winning 4-6 6-3 10-8.
Both teams are excited to head into their spring break matches and will play back-to-back matches in Orlando, Florida next week. Senior captain Davis Esslinger emphasized that these matches are essential for building endurance for the warm weather back home in Easton.
“We get to see a whole other type of player,” Esslinger said. “It’s so much play which makes recovery easy, so it gets us into the speed of things before Patriot League. The humidity also helps us to level up.”
Both teams — which through eight matches have higher win percentages this season compared to last — have built confidence as a result of their recent performances.
“We have been having a really good season,” Esslinger said. “We are close to dead even right now so that’s a good spot for us. It’s giving us and our coaching staff a lot of confidence.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be back in Easton for a match against Fairfield University on March 17, with the men’s team also facing Villanova University on March 22.
