The Fairfield men’s and women’s tennis teams were both impressive at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships this weekend.
The ITA event brings together the top teams in the Northeast, with the top singles and top doubles teams representing their schools. The caliber of competition at the event is very high, and Fairfield was not expected to play well against such strong teams. However, freshman Paulina Rys stepped up her game and won the first ITA match by a Fairfield player since 1999.
Rys defeated Lehigh University 6-4, 6-1. She and her doubles partner Marisa Voloshin ’09 played well in their first round match but did not advance.
On the men’s side Jon Fernando `07 matched up against an impressive player from Temple and lost a tough match 7-6, 7-5. Fernando and his doubles partner Chip Palumbo `09 lost to Manhattan College 8-3. Manhattan is favored to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) this season.
The men’s tournament was played at the University of Pennsylvania. Fernando’s match against Temple went back and forth, with the first set going to a tiebreaker. Down 3-6 in the tiebreaker, Fernando cut the lead to 5-6 before missing on a forehand that went wide. He was unable to recover in the second set. The Temple player’s strong first serve proved to be the difference in the match.
Head Coach Ed Paige said Fernando is at the same level as his talented opponent.
“Jon is right there with so many of the talented opponents that he faces,” said Paige. “But he needs to learn to identify and play big points better.”
Fernando agreed with Paige: “I feel like I lost a very winnable match. I was right there with him, I just didn’t play the big points well enough.”
Fernando and Palumbo were even with the Manhattan team at the beginning of the match, but later fell down a break and could not battle back.
Fernando felt that he and Palumbo had a strong showing, but not up to their personal standards.
“We played well this weekend, but not well enough considering the competition,” Fernando said. “We knew coming into it that we’d have to play great doubles, even better than we did at Quinnipiac to be successful, but we couldn’t find a good rhythm due to the quality of our opponents.”
“Chip is getting better and better each week though, and it makes myself and the rest of the team very optimistic about how successful he will be in the spring. He’s such an athletic and talented player,” he added.
Paige was also very impressed with the Rys’s showing.
“It was a great day for the women. It is a very big deal that Paulina won; I believe that she has got the game and attitude to play number one for Fairfield.”
Rys and Voloshin were disadvantaged in the doubles match, as Voloshin suffered from back spasms. Paige, however, said Voloshin played well considering her injury.
“Marisa really played through the back spasms like a warrior,” said Paige.
Rys also said her highly talented opponents also made it difficult to secure the win.
“Marisa and I played well against Albany, but I think we were nervous at first because the caliber of the tournament was quite high, and several tennis powerhouses were present.”
Rys got a first round bye in singles, which made it easier for her to adjust to her surroundings. She also said her win was a personal victory.
“My match against Lehigh was a huge win for me. What really helped me is that I went in confident and just played my game. It was a close game, and with great coaching feedback from Erin Reeves, I was able to pull through and win. It felt awesome winning one for the team,” Rys said.
“My next match was one of the best learning experiences that I will have all year long,” she added. “It showed me what my strengths and weaknesses are and having a shot to win with a girl as talented as my opponent was a great educational experience.”
The team’s fall season has now come to a close. But Paige said the team is looking forward to the new year.
“We remain in season until Nov. 17 but will switch into a fitness and strength training mode now that the tournaments are over. We will then resume practice on Jan. 19.”
Rys said the women’s team also has high hopes for the spring season.
“The team gets along very well,” she said, “and I hope to pull off a few more wins for the team and take a shot at the MAAC Championship.”
Fernando, who is the men’s team’s co-captain, also felt that the spring season will be successful.
“I’m very confident in the team and what we can accomplish this coming spring,” he said. “We have been third in the MAAC the past three years, so we would like to beat Niagara for the fourth year in a row and then take it to Marist to hopefully get into the top two.”
“For myself, when it’s all said and done, I just want to know I did everything I possibly could to reach my fullest potential,” Fernando added.
The men return to play on Jan. 28 when they travel to the University of Hartford. The women will also travel to Hartford on Feb.3.
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