EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - The Bryn Mawr tennis team started off their 2015-16 campaign with a great first step earlier Wednesday afternoon. The Owls traveled all the way over to East Stroudsburg University for a matchup against the Warriors, and ended up bringing home a big 5-3 victory over the Division II opponents. Not only did the Owls earn confidence by toppling a team from a "higher" division, they also helped first-year head coach Doanh Wang pick up his first victory at Bryn Mawr.
Bryn Mawr (1-0) opened the match by hanging tough in doubles play. The second doubles pairing of Maire Clayton and Lizzie Siegle picked up Bryn Mawr's first win of the season, and did so in dominating fashion. The young duo almost pulled a clean sweep, taking their match by a score of 8-1. At first doubles, the pairing of Melina Koukoutchos and Kendall Baller pushed their opponents almost to a tiebreak, but ultimately lost by a score of 9-7. The third a final doubles match of the day featured Mariam Haider and Tirsa Delate for the Owls, and although they couldn't take the W in their match either, they definitely appraised themselves well in the match.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the match, the singles contests were where Bryn Mawr would make their hay. Koukoutchos rebounded from her tough loss in doubles to take a huge point at the top singles spot. The senior battled through against a tough opponent to take her match by a score of 10-6. Fellow senior Kendall Baller also played a very close match, but ended up just on the wrong side of a 10-8 scoreline.
Bryn Mawr would really do damage with their remaining four singles spots. Lizzie Siegle and Maire Clayton both continued their impressive days by picking up individual wins. Siegle "bagled" her opponent, winning at third doubles by a 10-0 score. Clayton followed close behind at fourth singles, winning 10-2. Eram Haider also kept her opponent scoreless with an 8-0 win, and although Tirsa Delate's singles match couldn't be finished due to darkness, she was leading 5-2 at the time the match was halted.
"It was a good first match for us," stated Wang after the big win. "It was good to see the entire team get more comfortable with competitive situations. We are still learning how to compete and handle pressure situations. Maire and Lizzie both did a good job contributing three total points for the team, and Melina also did a good job maintaining her composure in her first singles match."
Today's win continues Bryn Mawr's trend of having success against Division II programs in the recent past. Back in 2013, the Owls knocked off University of the Sciences in a thrilling 5-4 match. Bryn Mawr has also had success against programs like Slippery Rock and Millersville as well.
The Owls will look to keep the momentum going as they continue their fall play next week. Bryn Mawr will host Alvernia on Thursday, October 1st at 3:30 PM on the Bryn Mawr tennis courts. The series has been a competitive one, with the programs splitting wins over the last two seasons.
