Elizabethtown College’s men’s and women’s tennis teams will begin their first of two fall tournaments this weekend. Tennis is unique compared to other spring sports, as the players participate in not only one day of competition, but two. This weekend, the Blue Jays are headed to the United States Tennis Association – Intercollegiate Tennis Association (USTA-ITA) Southeast Regional Championships in Fredericksburg, Va.
Senior Paul Whitman summed up the fall season as “a time to compete against our conference opponents and compete against the elite teams in our region.” The tennis team has been preparing for their first tournament for a few weeks.  Whitman said, “We have been preparing very hard coming in for the tournament. With four seniors on the [men’s] team, this will be the last time we will be playing in these tournaments, and we want to go out strong as a class and team. ITA is a very challenging tournament with top players from the top schools in the region. You really have to bring your A-game to the competition if you want to do well.” In the past two seasons, Whitman has done just that, with a 38-11 singles record and a 40-11 doubles record.
Whitman joined the team his sophomore year after not playing in high school. He said, “Not playing tennis in high school to playing in college was a tough transition. The players at the college level hit with lots of power and spin, which makes it tough to control at times. I learned from past and current players, and they keep teaching and helping me to become a better and smarter player. The players love hitting out of season, so we are constantly trying to improve. We know each other’s game in and out, so playing each other is fun and competitive.”
Last year, at the Southeast Regional Championships, Whitman won three straight singles matches to get into the finals of the tournament, surpassing Tyler Cheatham of York College, John Feighner of St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Sky Masand of Christopher Newport University. The last match was against Dan Boate of Washington College. Boate defeated junior Dylan Haefner earlier in the tournament, but was unable to best Whitman. Haefner was able to recover and win the consolation title.
On winning and its effect on the upcoming tournament, Whitman said, “The success at ITAs last season has given me confidence in my game beating some great players, but that was in the past. Everyone trains hard and prepares in the off-season, so winning the ITAs does not guarantee anything for the upcoming season. The confidence is important, but it is a new season with new players. It’s like winning a championship or Super Bowl; you have to come back next year with the same intensity.” Whitman and Haefner also paired up on the doubles front, but came just short of winning the tournament with a 2-6 loss in the final.
The women’s team is also preparing to continue from last year’s stellar season with the first tournament. Senior Madison Pipkin stated, “The ITA tournament is a really good kick-off to our year. A lot of the best teams in the region are there, and we get to play some of the best players in Division III. It is also a good bonding time for our team to integrate the new players with the returning players. It is an overall good experience for both tennis and the team. We really enjoy being able to go.”
Sophomore Christine Evangelista captured last year’s title in the Blue 5 Singles draw at the USTA-ITA Southeast Regional, held at Mary Washington University. Evangelista beat Randolph-Macon College’s Reba Sledd, Haverford College’s Abbey Flynn and York’s Nicole Olsen on her way to the title. Evangelista then paired with sophomore Kaitlyn Pellegrino to make a run through the Blue 1 Doubles consolation draw to reach the consolation finals, where they were beaten by Marion Gloor and Sarah Stafford of Christopher Newport.
The Jays will end their fall season with the Middle Atlantic Conference Individual Championships. The MAC Individual Championships at Wilkes University will be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13-14. The team’s first spring matches will be at Hilton Head Island, S.C. over spring break, March 3-9.