Smith Tennis vs. Bowdoin and Trinity, April 12, 2003

Article written by Liz Laudeman, tri-captain, ‘03 
 

Unfortunately, the record book will never reflect the intensity that Smith tennis played with against Bowdoin and Trinity on Saturday, April 12 because Smith lost 2-7 and 3-6.  Bowdoin arrived promptly at eight in the morning to the indoor facility and played very aggressive doubles to begin the match.  Smith’s first doubles team of Katy Walker and Lauren Kemp and the third doubles team of Ashley Kilgore and Liz Laudeman were pummeled by the accuracy of Bowdoin’s attack game.  However, the defensive style of the rookies that made up the second doubles team, Joanna Wong and Ruth Linz, allowed them to find the openings, and they had a close match before losing 7-9.  Wong and Linz proved that they can compete with the best and that their enthusiasm for playing doubles together overrides their inexperience.

Before the second doubles match was finished, the singles players Kemp, Walker and Laudeman approached their singles matches with confidence and without being overly discouraged by their doubles’ losses.  Walker won decisively at number six singles, 6-4, 6-3.  Kemp had a formidable adversary, as she often does at number one singles, but pushed her to a tiebreaker in the first set before losing 6-7, 2-6.  Laudeman easily took the first set, 6-0, but was unnerved by her opponent, who regained her rhythm in the second set to win it 6-4.  Nonetheless, Laudeman remained steady and was coached by assistant, Mandy Klaas, to a 7-5 victory in the third set.  Similarly, Linz approached her singles match with the same intensity of her doubles and was a serious threat to her nationally ranked opponent.  After winning the first set 6-4 and losing the second 4-6, Linz displayed her extraordinary endurance and resiliency in the third set tiebreaker that slipped through her fingers, 7-9.  Cami Whitney had an equally disheartening super tiebreaker loss, 11-13, to determine the outcome of her fourth singles match.  Kilgore also played a first set tiebreaker at third singles, but lost 6-7, 2-6.  The many tiebreakers were an indication that this was a close match, which could have been won by Smith if only a few more points had been in her favor.

After such an exhilarating match, the Smith team rushed to the outdoor courts where the Trinity team was waiting with the first doubles match already underway.  Although Kemp and Walker started strong, they had trouble maintaining their edge and lost 4-8.  The second and third doubles team took to the courts with renewed enthusiasm to be playing outside, and it was only a matter of playing a few games before both teams were able to break serve and pull ahead.  Wong and Linz won the second doubles match, 8-4, and Kilgore and Laudeman won 8-5.

Although the Smith team took an early lead in the doubles, Coach Davis was forced to reevaluate the singles lineup.  In order to field the best lineup, three players (Linz, Laudeman and Walker) stepped down due to fatigue and injury.  Fortunately, the Smith team has great depth, and Wong, Elizabeth Maynard and Nora Testerman stepped up to the challenge.  Despite very windy conditions, Testerman brought a decisive victory for Smith at the sixth singles position, 6-2, 6-0.  Maynard played a very competitive match, but lost by a narrow margin, 4-6, 5-7.  Whitney outlasted her opponent in a first set tiebreaker, but was forced into another disappointing super tiebreaker to lose the match, 1-10.  Kemp, Kilgore and Wong also played admirably, but succumbed to Trinity 6-3, 6-2; 6-3, 6-2; and 6-3, 6-0, respectively.  Once again, Smith lost by a very narrow margin on at least two courts, but more importantly, the team showed its strength and adaptability by adjusting the lineup and remaining competitive.  If a team is only as strong as its weakest player, the Smith team proved on Saturday that it is very strong because it has no weak players.