Newburgh, N.Y. – Led by senior captain Gina Trapini (Walden, N.Y.), the Mount Saint Mary College women's tennis team won both of their matches on the opening weekend of play. The Blue Knights blanked Keystone College, 9-0, on Saturday and then squeaked by Misericordia University, 5-4, on Sunday.
The win over Keystone was truly a dominant performance as no player or team yielded more than four total games to their opponent. Mount Saint Mary swept the doubles competition to take an early 3-0 lead in the match. Trapini and freshman Justine Perna (Burlington, Conn.) prevailed at first doubles, while freshman Lindsay Searle (Farmington, Conn.) and sophomore Caitlin Giordano (Walden, N.Y.) came through at second doubles, both by a score of 8-1. Sophomore Rachel Rodriguez (Beacon, N.Y.) teamed with freshman Danielle Kehoe (Goshen, N.Y.) for an 8-0 win at third doubles.
Trapini led off the singles lineup with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at first. Three freshmen-Perna, Searle, and Kehoe-all opened up their singles careers with wins in the second, third, and fourth spots, respectively. Giordano completely blanked her opponent at fifth (6-0, 6-0) while sophomore Laura Wolons (Middletown, N.Y.) earned a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at sixth.
The big match of the weekend would come on Sunday as Mount Saint Mary avenged a 5-4 loss to Misericordia from last season. The Blue Knights took two out of the three doubles matches for a one match lead headed into the singles play. Trapini and Perna won 8-2 at first doubles, while Kehoe and Wolons earned a crucial 9-7 win at third doubles. At one point in the pro-set, Kehoe and Wolons trailed 5-1 but rallied for an impressive comeback victory
In singles play, Mount Saint Mary swept the first three positions to clinch the 5-4 team win. Trapini was spectacular in a 6-2, 6-0 win at first singles and Perna was equally impressive in a 6-1, 6-2 victory at second singles. Searle turned in the clinching performance at third singles with a 6-2, 6-1. The game of the match came at 5-2 in the first set with Searle serving. After a multitude of deuces (at least twelve), Searle finally took a set point and went on to win easily in the second set.
For her efforts over the weekend, Trapini was named the Skyline Conference Player of the Week. Perna was named to the Skyline weekly Honor Roll.
The Blue Knights are 2-0 on the season after their impressive opening weekend. They are next in action on Saturday, September 15 as they travel to Polytechnic University for their first Skyline match of the season.
