CHELSEA WARRENThe Washington University women’s tennis team was not a very gracious host this weekend in the Washington University Invitational. Competing against Graceland, McKendree, and Principia Colleges in four singles and two doubles flights, the team swept all 6 flights with Bears facing one another in each final.
Senior Rathi Manni won over Lauren Zwick in the Flight A singles finals. Manni also defeated last year’s No. 4 singles player Laura Greenberg on her way to the finals. Manni, whose shoulder problems limited her to doubles play her first three seasons, will compete in singles play for the first time in her career this year.
In Flight B, Erin Fleming defeated Erica Greenberg. At Flight C, Sara Kabakoff beat Meera Damle and in Flight D Becky Rovner overcame Rachel Kwal.
In doubles, Laura Greenberg and Erin Fleming defeated Lauren Zwick and Ravi Manni in Flight A. In Flight B, Meera Damle and Shelley Edson beat twins Annmarie and Meghan Poelstra.
The strong play of the freshmen as well as Manni’s impressive singles debut was a pleasant surprise for head coach Lynn Imergoot. The new freshmen additions and Manni’s performance should help the team compensate for the loss of two-time All-American No. 1 singles player Jenny Stein, No. 3 singles player Steph Cook, No. 6 singles player Jennifer Kivitz, and Rania Abbassi. Last year’s No. 2 singles player Kacie Cook will not be playing in the fall because she will be studying abroad in the spring.
While the Bears ended up receiving the best competition of the weekend from each other, the Invitational still provided them with their first real competitive experience of the season. Coach Imergoot lauded the team’s fiery play and was particularly pleased with the team’s volleying, but added that there is always room for improvement.
“The matches where we had to play each other were some of the most competitive and intense I’ve ever seen,” Imergoot said. “They were really battling out there. Particularly for a couple of the freshmen and then new people, it gave them a chance to see how they were playing. Nobody played perfect tennis-nobody ever plays perfect tennis. So there’s always something to work on.”
The Bears will return to action on October 3 when they compete in the ITA Omni Ohio/Midwest Regional Championships in Springfield, Ohio.