Box Score
Grantham, PA - The wind and cool weather did not slow down the Messiah College women's tennis team as they topped Penn State Berks 9-0 on Monday afternoon.
The Falcons doubles tandems started the match and got the team out to an early lead.
Erin Ipsen and
Sarah Brookhart led the top doubles match defeating their opponents by a score of 8-5. Ipsen and Brookhart kept continually pressure on PSU Berks their entire match with their arsenal of shots.
At number two doubles
Ellen Harpold and
Katelyn Clark breezed through their match 8-3.
The final doubles pairing of young stars
Jennifer Kitlan and
Michelle Curtis used their youth to defeat their opponents 8-3 in the pro set. Kitlan and Curtis dominated the match at the net and were able to keep PSU Berks on their heels throughout.
"Kitlan and Curtis have played so well for us and have been a great pair at number three doubles," head Messiah tennis coach
Jon Arosell commented. "They both play so well under pressure and in the future we will really need them to step up just as they have done so far."
With Messiah up 3-0 after doubles they only needed to notch two singles victories to take the team match. They did much more than just that.
Harpold flew through her number four singles match, finishing in less than hour, 6-1, 6-2. Her hard hitting forehand and her ability to create and use angles helped her finish at such a blistering pace.
On the court right next to Harpold was Curtis who was playing in the number six singles match. She had no problem with the first set winning 6-3. The second set Curtis made a few key errors and was affected by the wind to allow Sam Warga of PSU Berks to remain in the match. Curtis was able to finish with authority and won the second set 7-5.
Over on court four Jen Kitlan disposed off her foe in straight sets winning 6-2, 6-2. She was unbelievable at hitting to the corner on nearly every shot. Kitlan ran her opponent around the court and rarely missed her forehand. Her impressive play led to the easy victory.
Clark and Brookhart were playing at number three and two singles respectively. Clark was able to outlast Arion Harris during many long points in their singles match and pulled out a 6-2, 6-3 win. Brookhart used her steady play to ride way to a 6-3, 6-2 decision over PSU Berk's Amiee Hoffman.
The last match of the day came down to the top spot. Ipsen has anchored this position for Messiah over the past two years and did an excellent job of doing so in this match. She controlled many of the points in the first set and did not allow her opponent to dictate her shots as Ipsen won the first set 6-2.
The second set was much closer at Crystal Hitz of Berks was able to move Ipsen around and force her to hit a lot of balls and a lot of difficult shots. Ipsen battled and relied on her dominant forehand to help her remain on top. With all the other matches completed and all eyes on court number one, with Ipsen up five games to four, she was able to play a near flawless final game and pull out a 6-4 win.
"This win was really helpful for us," Arosell said. "Penn State Berks came out and made us hit a lot of balls and we really had to focus with the wind swirling and testing our patience."
Arosell was right. Throughout the match wind gusts of up to 20 mph affected all players and all shots. The Falcons were able to adapt and finish out on top.
"The wind was definitely a neutralizer today,"Arosell added. "We were patient enough and could play with confidence and hit the shots we want. This match was a great indicator of where we are and what we need to do to get ready for conference play starting next week."
With the win Messiah moves to 3-4 on the season.
Their next game is on Wednesday, March 28th against the Eagles of Eastern University at 3:30 p.m. in St. David's, PA.
