Rider’s losing ways continue

By Corey Donetz
The men’s and women’s tennis teams both lost 7-0 on Monday afternoon in a MAAC match against Loyola (MD).
The matches were a lot closer than the score indicates. For the men’s team the closest singles match was that of senior Will Haight. Haight, who has played the majority of the season with an elbow injury, lost in a hard-fought three-set match.
“The only remedy is rest, and our season doesn’t leave much time for rest,” Haight said. “I can’t play anywhere near to my potential with tendonitis, and it is incredibly frustrating.  The last match I was able to rest my elbow for three days prior, and the way I played showed how effective I can be when I am near 100 percent.”
The loss to Loyola was the seventh loss in a row for the men’s team, but the losses can be deceiving, as the Broncs have had very tough competition.
“When we look at the schedule in the beginning of the season, we know who we’ll beat, who we can’t beat, and who will be a toss up. The spring season is always the more difficult of the two, and we’re playing the best teams we play right now. Upsets are almost impossible to pull off in tennis, because tennis isn’t a traditional team sport. In order to pull an upset, you have to have four individual upsets, and with the competition that we face that just isn’t likely to happen.” Haight goes on to say, “We are improving with every match, and that’s really all we can ask for,” he said. “As captain, I just do what I can to reinforce the motivation that the guys already have to improve during practice and try to win matches.”
The women’s team also had a tough match against Loyola, being swept in all sets. Senior Kristina Paich and freshman Marly Roche played extremely well in their singles matches, but came up short as they lost in straight sets.
Freshman Ryan Carpenter won two games in the first set and junior Chris Esposito was able to win two games in the second set, but both lost in straight sets 6-2, 6-0, and 6-0, 6-2 respectively. Freshman Drew Laverty played very well as he was able to win three games in each of the sets played, but he fell in two straight sets as well. Junior Robert Olsen and senior Marc Ashed also lost in straight sets.
Senior Kristina Paich won two games in the first set and fought hard in the second game by playing extremely sound and winning four games, but she was defeated in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Freshman Marly Roche also played some of her best tennis winning three games in the first and second set, but she also lost in two sets 6-3, 6-3. Sophomore Danielle White and junior Mallory Garbaravage were able to win a game in the first set, but they along with teammates sophomore Tricia Ashmore and junior Amanda Matticks also fell in straight sets.
Both teams look to get back on track and in the win column as they try to finish the remainder of the season strong and prepare for the MAAC Championships.