Bryn Mawr, Pa. - After a long spring of cancelations and postponements due to weather, the Bryn Mawr tennis team finally got their home opener in earlier Saturday afternoon. Under bright sunny skies, albeit with a little wind, the Owls kicked off their 2015 home campaign against Dickinson College. Bryn Mawr played their visitors highly competitively, earning victories in several matchups, but ultimately the Red Devils went home with a 7-2 win in the match.
There were plenty of bright spots on the day for the Owls (0-4, 0-3 Cent.). On the singles side, it was Lizzie Siegle and Alex Acaba who carried the play for Bryn Mawr, with both freshmen earning wins in their respective matches. Playing in the second singles spot, Siegle knocked off Dickinson's Madison Parks in straight sets. Siegle managed to set Parks down by a score of 6-3, 6-1 to win her match in solid fashion. Acaba followed suit with a big win over Dickinson's Sarah Cantor, using a dominating 6-0 second set to earn the win after taking the first frame by a score of 6-0.
In the first singles match, Melina Koukoutchos fell by a score of 6-3, 6-0 to Dickinson's Joana Nunes. Kendall Baller played a very competitive third singles contest against Shannon Lavery, nearly forcing a tiebreaking set. However, Baller came up just short, falling by a final score of 6-2, 6-4. Tirsa Delate fell by a score of 6-2, 6-0 in fifth singles, while Molly MacDougall dropped her sixth singles match in 6-1, 6-3 fashion.
Another high point on the day was the play of the team during the doubles matches. Although all three went the way of Dickinson, each Bryn Mawr team upped their play from the level of the last two contests. In first doubles, Koukoutchos and Kendall fell by a score of 1-8. Siegle and Acaba fared a little bit better, losing their match by a score of 2-8. Delate and Eram Haider gave their opponents fits early on in the third doubles contest, but ultimately couldn't close out the win in a 4-8 loss.
In an exhibition singles match, Mariam Haider went the distance to get herself a victory over Dickinson's Jaclyn Baum. Haider took the first set by a score of 6-2, but then Baum battled back to win the second frame by a score of 6-3. Ultimately, however, Haider prevailed, winning the tiebreaker 10-2 to earn herself a nice exhibition win.
With the home opener finally under their belts, the Owls will look to continue to build some success on the Bryn Mawr tennis courts. The team will be back in action at home two days in a row next week, starting on Monday with a non-conference match against Albright College. Then, they'll get right back on the court on Tuesday, taking on Centennial Conference opponent Washington College. Monday's match against Albright is slated to kick off at 4:00 PM.
