On Friday afternoon, September 6th, the Saint Michael’s College Women’s Tennis team packed up the van and hit the road to Long Island, New York. A six hour drive without traffic, none of the players were overly excited about the ride. On top of the distance, the team would be traveling to play Adelphi University the following day, one of the most talented and competitive teams in the NE-10 conference.
As the sun rose for a beautiful day on Saturday, the team spirits went up as well. Knowing that this would be a tough match, players went in with the mindset that no game is over until it is actually over, and that any team is beatable. Win or lose, playing against harder teams is a great way to improve your own skills. In a sport like tennis, it’s great practice to return serves or ground strokes that are hit with more strength or topspin, some skills that Adelphi is very good at.
While Saint Michael’s lost the match overall, players Caroline Sumner and Annie Serkes did secure a win playing third doubles. They played point by point with their heads up, and because it was a longer match, they were able to point out and target their opponents’ weaknesses. The rest of the team swarmed on the court to congratulate them, everyone smiling from ear to ear.
The icing on the cake was enjoying Long Island pizza court-side after the match. The SMC players felt as though they gave their best effort against a very talented team. In addition, this was St. Mike’s first match of the season. It will take a bit of time to develop chemistry between doubles partners, but it was not at all a bad start.
The following day, Sunday September 8th, SMC faced another solid team: University of New Haven. While a win was not in the cards for the Knights, two of the team’s alumni came out to support and watch the match. Margaret de Pont and Katie Costa graduated from St. Mike’s in 2019, but the women’s tennis team is still something dear to them. Seeing their faces was the perfect way to end the weekend!