Elizabethtown College’s men and women’s tennis teams traveled to Bel Air, Md. this past Saturday, March 22 to compete against Harford Community College in non-conference matches. The men’s team finished with a loss of 3-6 while the women’s team won 8-1.
In the men’s match, the team won fifth and sixth singles plus third doubles. This led them to fall to 1-3 on the season.
First-year Alex Machalick beat his competitor, Andy Rao, at No. 5 singles 5-7, 6-3, 10-8.  First-year Matthew Hornbaker also won No. 6 singles with scores of 6-2, 6-7 (2), 10-8.
Hornbaker contributed to the College’s only double’s point during the match with his teammate first-year Ben Geiger, as they earned an 8-2 victory over Harford’s Brandon Wolf and Soren Sibbesen.
Junior Michael Cannon is hopeful toward the next match despite the loss for his team at Harford.
“We all played solid tennis. Harford was a tough competitor, and the team played well against them. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out of there with a win, but we’ll move on and be ready to play Etown tennis for our next match,” Cannon said.
In the women’s match, the team held control throughout. All three doubles matches were won, allowing for an early 3-0 lead. An 8-1 score won the second doubles match by senior Adriana Scotto and first-year Taylor Helsel, while sophomore Lauren Berry and junior Nicole Snitzer conquered their opponents, Korrynne Arnold and Leslie Weinreich, 8-0.
Juniors Christine Evangelista and Kaitlyn Pellegrino also won against their opponents 8-3. “We have been working really hard at practice, so I’m glad to see all our hard work paid off this weekend,” Evangelista said. “We’ve had some close matches so far, so I’m excited to see how hard we will fight during our season.”
Such hard work can be seen through the victories of their singles matches as well. Berry and Scotto ensured victory through their scores of 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 and No. 2 6-1, 6-1, respectively.
Helsel (No. 6), first-year Madison McCall (No. 5) and Pellegrino (No. 3) also won their matches in consecutive sets. Competitor Andrea Alanis prevented a shutout for Harford through a 6-2,6-1 win over Evangelista (No. 1).
Head Coach Matt Helsel commented overall on the men’s and women’s teams and his expectations for the season. “We are young and inexperienced,” Coach Helsel said. “I expect us to get better each time out. We need to play aggressive doubles and steady singles.”
Coach Helsel also has expectations for this season. “I’m looking for progress,” Coach Helsel said. “Wins and losses will take care of themselves, but I am looking for how well we compete, how resilient we are and how well we will apply what we do in practice to competition. These matches are another measuring stick to see where we are as a team.”