The men’s and women’s tennis teams couldn’t have asked for a better senior day as both teams swept Siena College in one of their last home matches of the season.
The women’s team came out on top, securing a 5-2 win over the Saints, which helped the team secure a third place spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The third place will give the Stags the chance to compete in the upcoming MAAC tournament.
“Before we played, our coach said ‘this is the first step towards MAACs,’ so I thought our intensity was pretty good and we all really wanted to win,” said captain Allison Radde ‘15.
Headed into the match, Fairfield’s women’s team had posted a 6-2 MAAC record, while Siena posted a 3-4 record.
The duo of Karen McKeough ‘17 and Meghan Zimmer ‘17 gave the Stags their first win on Saturday, taking the match in one round, 8-2.
Allison Radde and Helen Abbot ‘18 had a close win, (8-7)(7-5) and it was just enough to get the team the win.
The Saints took down Emma Samson ’15 and Sarah Stuhlmann ’18 in two sets, 8-7 and 7-4.
“I was ready for the match, but it just didn’t end the way I wanted to,” said Samson. “We fought until the end.”
Both Radde and Stuhlmann battled, but unfortunately fell to the Saints. Radde, at number one singles, won one of the rounds against Siena’s Rina Sakai. Radde fell 3-6 in the first set, won the second set 6-2, but lost 2-10 in the tiebreaker.
Stuhlmann, at number two singles, was forced to four sets, where she played (6-7) (7-5) (6-2) (2-10).
At number three singles, Abbot was a strong player for the team, taking the win in two sets, 6-0, 6-4 while Kaila Nelson ‘17 also came up big, getting the Stags their fourth victory of the day, 6-2, 6-4.
McKeough got her second personal win against Siena and the Stags fifth and final win, defeating her opponent at six singles in two quick sets, 6-2, 6-3.
“This was an important match for the women,” said head coach Jeff Bricker, “and they answered the call so I was very pleased.”
For the men’s team, the Stags blanked Siena, posting a victory in all six of the singles spots, and picking up a point in the doubles matches. The 7-0 win improved the team’s MAAC record to 3-3, placing them fifth in the MAAC. Junior Ofir Solomon and Cameron Amyot ‘15 took down Siena 8-2 while the duo of Brad Orban ‘18 and Peter Colliard ‘17 posted an 8-6 victory. Luke Lemieux ‘18 and Dylan Appel ‘18 secured the win at number three doubles, getting the win 8-5.
At number one singles, Orban was ahead 3-1 before Siena’s Darren Reisch was forced to retire due to an injury.
Solomon was nearly flawless, getting the win in a quick match, (6-1) (6-0). On his senior day, Amyot was forced to play three rounds, but ended up on top, getting win at number three singles, (6-1) (4-6) (13-11).
“My match went well,” said Amyot. “I pulled it out in three sets and the team played really well in doubles. It was good having a lot of people and support out here for our senior day.”
At four and five singles, Colliard finished (6-4) (6-1) and Appel finished (6-0) (6-3), both walking away with the win from Siena.
Lemieux picked up the seventh and final win for his team, defeating his opponent in two sets, (6-0) (6-1).
Not only was the win important in preparing for the MAAC Tournament, the win helped to honor the seniors of the team who have earned multiple accolades for their performances on and off the court. Amyot, Samson and Radde will be graduating this spring and Bricker added that their contributions to the team will be greatly missed.
“These seniors have been fantastic, especially for me, a first year coach,” said Bricker. “They’ve been great in helping me transition into the job. Their leadership is second to none.”
Although the seniors have concluded their regular season at home, they’ve still got plenty of matches and time to prepare for the MAAC Championship. Amyot, Samson and Radde were all members of the team that won the MAAC Championship in 2011 and they hope to do so again in their senior year.
“We’re going with intensity, high expectations,” said Samson, “we’re trying not to see to Sunday, but to see to Saturday, and see if we can get that win on Saturday.”
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