One shutout win and one clean win set a promising start for the Elizabethtown men’s and women’s tennis teams. 

Both squads would compete against Penn State Brandywine on the Alumni Courts at home. 

This match was the official start of a season that spans both the fall and spring semesters. The Etown tennis team starts competition in September and plays through April. 

On the men’s side, Etown was able to win the three doubles matches and six singles matches. One doubles match and two singles matches were won by default as Penn State Brandywine did not have enough players. 

Key returners Stefanos Billis and Max Lauver made for the star doubles team. Together, they were able to rally against Penn State Brandywine’s Mateo Torres and Elias Danesh for a 6-1 blowout win. 

Also with a 6-1 blowout win was the number two doubles squad of Austin Kohler and Jio Garcia. As a first-year student, this was Garcia’s first collegiate win. The third doubles squad of Isaac Reichenbach and Zachary Hinkel won by default, adding another point to Etown’s tally. 

Kohler, Garcia, Hinkel and Reichenbach would all double back to win their respective singles matches as well. Junior Kyler Henne and first-year Nicholas Powell would win by default to complete the shoutout versus Penn State Brandywine. 

On the women’s side, the Lady Jays would rally together against the Nittany Lions to win two of the three doubles and five of the six singles matches. First-year Mariia Yeni and sophomore Hannah Walker won both their doubles and singles matches. Yeni won her doubles match 6-1 with fellow first-year Elizabeth Warren and then won her singles sets 6-0 and 6-3. Walker won her doubles match with junior Taylor Dukes by default, then won her singles sets 6-1 and 6-0. 

Warren, junior Katie Balzano, first-year Julia Kierna, and first-year Sara Hermany also won their singles matches.

The men’s and women’s squads will continue to play through the fall before returning to the courts in the spring.