At the end of last season the men’s tennis team celebrated along with their female counterparts, who had just won the MAAC Championship, earning a trip to the NCAA tournament. But one thing was clear, they wanted their own title. And the women, returning four seniors, wanted to win a second one.
Head coach Ed Paige, in his fourth season as the head coach of the Stags, came into Fairfield along with the six seniors who played their final matches at Fairfield last weekend and that group helped earn him not only the championship, but also the 2009 MAAC Coach of the Year Award.
The Stags swept the weekend, defeating Saint Peter’s. The women won 7-0, moving to 14-5 overall and 5-0 in the MAAC, while the men won 6-1, moving to 11-7 and 4-0 in the conference.
Fairfield now has just two games to play before the MAAC Championships begin on April 23 in Flushing, N.Y., at the USTA National Tennis Center.
Both teams faced a difficult task, with the men playing Marist on Tuesday and the women facing Marist on Wednesday. The Red Foxes are also undefeated in for both men and women.
The men’s seniors are co-captains Bob Kelly and Ryan Berthod.
While Berthod has had the more illustrius career, Kelly has also made a major impact. Kelly was held back by talented players in front of him for most of his career, but his leadership skills earned him a captain’s spot in his senior season. Kelly has a 7-13 record this season. During his time at Fairfield, Kelly met Paige’s criteria for a perfect student-athlete, with his maturity, talent and cheerful attitude while supporting his teammates. Prior to the season, Paige said: “Bob is going to be heard from this year. His performance in the fall was stunning, He has made a meteoric rise. I’ve never seen a player get as better as he has gotten from his junior to senior year. His size and blistering serve will help us.”
Berthod, meanwhile, has the most combined victories in his career in Fairfield history and is fourth overall in singles wins, behind two former teammates, Zack Morrison and Jonathan Fernando.
The women’s side is led by four players who have been starting singles players since their freshman seasons: Dana Postupack, Paulina Rys, Gretchen Amberg and Michaela Cerrone. While injuries have taken some time away from the foursome, they have been together for almost their entire careers. They all rank within the top 10 in career singles wins, with Rys, Postupack and Cerrone all in the top four.
Postupack and Rys formed one of the better doubles teams in the MAAC for the majority of their careers, winning 73 and 68 matches respectively.
Cerrone missed most of her freshman season with a sprained ankle, but along with Amberg has become a formidable doubles and singles player.
Meanwhile, Rys and Postupack made an impact right from the start. Postupack started her career 11-1 in singles and while she was later eclipsed by her close friend Rys, has is second in all time victories.
In her freshman season, Rys predicted big things for what was then a young squad.
“We are a very talented team but many of us have yet to get used to playing tennis on a college level. I think the next few years will bring in much success as the team matures,” she said.
Rys and her class proved her right.
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