The men’s tennis team dropped all three of its matches last weekend, while the women fell in both of their contests against a mix of conference and non-conference opponents. The men faced the Naval Academy, Marist University and Lehigh University, while the women played Bucknell University and Marist.
For the men, Saturday saw the Leopards (1-4 Patriot League, 4-9 overall) fall 4-0. Lafayette pushed the Midshipmen (5-1 Patriot League, 23-17 overall) in multiple matches, yet the decisive touches never swung their way.
At No. 1 doubles, freshman Ricky Espaillat and senior Nick McKenzie were edged 7-5. At No. 2, seniors Sam Gelber and Jake Magnusson fell in a seven‑point tiebreak, ending the third doubles match early.
“We went into that match wanting to start strong in terms of our energy,” senior Sam Gelber said. “We played more aggressive, taking it to them from the start.”
Navy went on to sweep the singles courts, even as Maroon and White pushed several competitive matches.
The women’s team (1-5 Patriot League, 2-8 overall) spent its Saturday afternoon at Bucknell (2-5 Patriot League, 9-10 overall). The Leopards dropped the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches 6-1, while the No. 3 pairing of freshman Sophia Bald and senior Ally Waldman battled to the end in a close 7-5 loss.
Senior Alyssa Perdomo delivered Lafayette’s lone singles victory of the day, mounting an impressive comeback after dropping the first set 6-1. Perdomo steadied herself, earning a 7-6 second set before sealing the match with a 10-8 third-set tiebreak. The Bison secured a 6-1 victory over the Leopards.
Senior Jake Magnusson said that Navy was the “last swing in the Patriot League before the Marist match.”
On Sunday, both teams returned to the home courts to celebrate Senior Day against Marist.
Magnusson said that “there was a ton of energy.”
“All the guys just wanted to have a good senior day,” he said.
On the men’s side, the Maroon and White dropped all three doubles matches to the Red Foxes (13-5 overall). Singles play proved far more competitive, as Lafayette picked up one victory and pushed two additional bouts to three sets. Gelber delivered the lone win of the day, defeating his opponent in a three-set battle 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
“I was going out there and competing, not just for myself, but for everyone else playing,” Gelber said.
The Red Foxes defeated the Leopards 6-1.
“The guys were there to cheer me on and make me laugh during a couple points,” Gelber said. “That kind of took the edge off, which really helped me. I fed off of them and I think that’s why I got that singles win on senior day.”
The women suffered the same fate, falling 7-0 to Marist (10-7 overall). In doubles play, junior Hanna Ganchi and Perdomo secured a 6-3 victory, but Marist claimed the remaining two doubles matches and then went on to sweep all six singles courts.
In their final match before Patriot League championships, the men were swept 4-0 by Lehigh (5-1 Patriot League, 12-8 overall) on Tuesday.
The women played Holy Cross (0-5 Patriot League, 1-12 overall) in the Patriot League quarterfinals on Thursday, while the men will compete next Thursday with their opponent still to be determined. The women’s tournament will be held at Bucknell, and the men’s at Lehigh.
“Because of the amount of matches we played in the last three weeks, we definitely have kind of hit our stride,” Magnusson said.