The Oswego State women’s tennis team experienced a great deal of difficulty this season, compiling a 3-7 overall record on their way to the fourth seed of the Western Division in this weekend’s SUNYAC tournament.
The team is matched up against the SUNY New Paltz Hawks, who finished first in the SUNYAC Eastern Division with a 4-2 overall record and a 3-0 SUNYAC record. The match will take place on Oct. 8, in Binghamton, New York.
The journey the team has taken this year has been a tough one, but there have been positives coming from the team recently, with consecutive wins last week against Elmira and Utica, both at home.
Two players, specifically junior Giovanna Saulle and sophomore Lorrayne Broach, have been performing exceptional recently. With the pair rolling in the last few matches in the fourth and fifth double spots, respectively, there is strength lower in the lineup that can swing the momentum of the match against New Paltz.
“It’s been a long season, but we’ve been hopeful the whole time,” Saulle said. “Our numbers may not reflect as well as we anticipated on doing but we did pretty well together as a team as a whole.”
With this recent surge in momentum, there is certainly reason for optimism coming from the Lakers’ second-year head coach Shane Evans.
“Obviously with the whole [finishing] 3-7, there’s room to grow,” Evans said. “Although we’ve won these matches, even the ones we lost they’ve been close. They’ve been closer than most other years so there’s room to grow.”
Even though New Paltz poses a formidable threat, they are not invincible. Their two losses came against to Rensselaer and SUNYAC powerhouse SUNY Geneseo.
“Honestly, we’ve been playing better, moving better, and it just took a while for us to get our confidence up there, and it really showed in those back to back wins,” Evans said.
The level of confidence in the girls and the coach is rising and an invigorated tennis team will be heading into the SUNYAC tournament this weekend.
“Going up against them, when we haven’t played them in recent years, is going to be tough and they’re a good team,” Broach said.
The major storyline heading into this weekend is how the Lakers have been picking up steam and New Paltz has lost their last two matches.
The Hawks have a better record in a stronger division, but the Lakers have momentum on their side and that may be what pushes them over the top in an upset victory this weekend.
The Hawks have dominant players, such as first singles Olivia Ammirati and second singles Brittany Grandville, who have performed exceptional in both singles and doubles play.
Though the Hawks seem to have the upper hand heading into the matchup, there are a few keys to victory the Lakers can take advantage of to escape the first round contest with a victory.
This weekend’s matchup will come down to whether or not the Lakers have the confidence. Creating a mindset that they can overcome the woes that plagued them this year in regular season play is essential in allowing the Oswego State squad to gain victory.
On Saturday at 11:30 a.m., the Lakers will find out if their newfound positive attitude will create the environment they need to pull off the upset.
