Happy Tuesday, ladies and gentlemen! We welcome you back to our second installment of Women’s Player of the Week! As we head into the post-season, there are so many ladies stepping it up, and it’s so fun to watch! However, the higher level of tennis makes it that much harder for us to choose our Players of the Week, but nonetheless, here we are again! So grab your favorite snack (I recommend Bugles or Cheetos), sit back and scroll on to read about the studs of this week!
D3ASW
Team: Carnegie Mellon
Results: Easy breezy wins at #1 singles/#1 doubles in CMU’s 5-4 win over W&L
Recap: Not a lot happened in the ASouth this past weekend (although I’m sure I missed something and I’ll get a sternly worded email about it). The marquee matchup was definitely #10 CMU vs. #22 W&L which despite not seeming like it would be very close based on rankings, tends to be a barn burner every year. Fortunately NewD3Central had us covered. This year was similarly tight, though CMU pulled ahead early thanks to Taylor/Strome’s dominant performance at #1 doubles and Taylor’s equally dominant show at #1 singles. If Taylor didn’t win those matches so quickly and let the team score simmer at 2-2 or 3-3 then this match could have turned out much differently.
What’s next: UAA tournament this weekend with a first round match against #20 NYU. CMU is probably a little bit disappointed that they ended up with the #4 seed but Taylor must be itching for a rematch with Gonzales-Rico of Emory.
Honorable Mention: Neha Rao and Hannah Doherty (Centre – picked up win at #1 doubles against Wash U), Mary Hampton McNeal (W&L – won both matches against CMU)
Fav post-match snack: This is a tough question to answer because it’s so important to me. Did I win the match easily? Am I eating because I’m actually hungry or because I just want to eat? Did I lose and now I’m eating to comfort myself? West: Why isn’t this answer just “Chocolate”? If I’m just eating for the sake of eating, then I’ll probably just reach into my tennis bag for the family sized bag of peanut m&m’s. If I need a full meal then I think I’ll go with a Chipotle burrito bowl. I can skip the tortilla because I’m not a pig.
Your last meal ever would be: I’m going to start with dessert. Always start with dessert. Plus if it’s my last meal I might be dying of a heart attack or something so time is of the essence. I’ll need something with chocolate – could be a cake or cheesecake. I’m not picky. While I’m working on dessert someone can fire up my tabletop grill to get my KBBQ started. I’ll also need some carbs so throw in some noodles. Make it ramen but good ramen. Or pho, pho is fine too. Or pad thai. I’ll need Sriracha.
D3NEW
Team: Wellesley
Results: Huang went 2-0 at #1 singles, 1-1 at #2 doubles in Wellesley’s matches vs Tufts and Mount Holyoke.
Recap: Wellesley had a busy week with matches against Tufts and Mount Holyoke. As was expected, they cruised through Holyoke dropping only one match, and fell to the Jumbos. Wellesley’s Huang, had a stellar weekend in singles going undefeated and picking up a huge three set win against Tufts in a hard fought battle against Dorr. For her to keep her composure and fight to the very end of the match shows the grit this senior’s got.
What’s next: Big Blue take on Emerson today to end their regular season before heading into NEWMACs, where they’re looking to finish the season strong.
Honorable Mention: Ashley Teng (MIT), Leah Bush (Williams)
Fav post-match snack: Toss up between Cheez-Its and Goldfish (don’t @ me, they’re v different)
Your last meal ever would be: Part of me wants to say tacos, the other part says Pad See Ew, combining them sounds gross – is there such thing as having two last meals??
D3CentralW
Team: #35 Carleton College
Results: Romanenko went 2-0 at #1 singles and 1-1 at #3 doubles against #38 Bethel and #31 GAC. Carleton won both matches and they are sitting in first place in the MIAC.
Recap: Scored a big come from behind win against Hartmann of #31 Gustavus 3-6, 7-5, 10-5 to put Carleton solely in 1st in the MIAC. Previous to this match, Romanenko also won a key matchup at the top spot against #38 Bethel (also in 3 sets).
What’s next: They play their final regular season home match against College of Saint Benedict on 4/26 and their final MIAC match at University of Saint Thomas the next day before playing the MIAC Championships.
Honorable Mention: Gabi Kitchell (UWW), Lauren O’Malley (John Carroll University)
Fav post-match snack: Hot and Spicy Cheezits or anything hot and spicy
Your last meal ever would be: Spicy Tuna Roll
D3WestW
Team: Trinity (TX)
Results: Kaffen went 2-0 at #1 doubles with twin Mary Kaffen, and 2-0 at #3 singles during the SCAC tournament, with the title clincher against Southwestern.
Recap: Zoe and the rest of the Tigers handled Schreiner with ease, as the Kaffens cruised to an 8-1 doubles win. Zoe was hungry in singles too with a double bagel. The finals vs. Southwestern were a bit more competitive — Zoe and Mary won 8-6 over the Pirates team of Bowers/Wilde, and then Zoe battled back from a set down against Mariana Quetzeri for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win to clinch the Tigers’ 8th straight conference championship.
What’s next: With their conference season complete, the Tigers head to the Ojai this weekend for some more individual matches. The Kaffens are currently on the outside looking in for NCAAs, but a strong showing at the Ojai could get the committee’s attention. After that, TU will be eagerly awaiting Selection Monday to book their flight for NCAA regionals
Honorable Mention: Arianna Chen (Pomona-Pitzer), Riley Hanks (Lewis & Clark), Kana Moriyama (Caltech)
Fav post-match snack: In juniors it was these amazing custard rolls that one of my teammate’s parents would bring, but now I hoard goldfish, pretzels, or really anything else lying around
Your last meal ever would be: Let’s be real, it’d just be me and a bowl of watermelon sour patch
D3Analyst
Team: Amherst
Results: Smukler went 3-0 at #2 singles and 2-1 at #2 doubles over the past week in Amherst’s matches against Bates, Williams, and Wesleyan.
Recap: Amherst had a busy week with three matches, and they won the ones they were expected to (Bates and Williams) and lost the one they were expect to lose (Wesleyan). Smukler had a really solid performance in all three matches. Smukler got singles and doubles wins against Williams to help her team take down their rival. And although Smukler lost in doubles to Wesleyan, she beat Venia Young, who’s had a stellar freshman year, 7-6 in the third set.
What’s next: Amherst plays Tufts on Wednesday and Middlebury on Saturday. Amherst is favored over Tufts and Middlebury is favored over Amherst, but I’d love to see some exciting matches.
Honorable Mention: Sonya Romanenko or Jeanny Zhang from Carleton College, they both earned third-set singles wins to bring Carleton to an upset win over Gustavus Adolphus (after being down 0-3 after doubles).
Fav post-match snack: Dried Mangoes
Your last meal ever would be: This question is too hard. Tacos? Bread? Ice cream? Hummus and pita bread? All of the above?
And there ya have it, congrats on another fun-filled week of tennis, and look out for a lot more women’s content comin’ at ya this week!