The ‘Nova women’s tennis kept its winning streak alive with a big win against Lafayette Sept. 25. Earlier in the season Coach Reiniger described the Lafayette match as “the true comparison test of the fall season.” The ‘Cats certainly passed this test with flying colors, beating the Leopards 6-1.

Candice Carlin, Jessie Rybacki, Kelly McAndrew, Leighann Reilly and Lindsey Puchyr all won their singles matches for the Wildcats. Freshman standout Carlin, improving to 10-2 this season, is more and more impressive every time she steps onto the court. “Candice Carlin has surpassed all expectations by being an outstanding No. 1 player,” coach Reiniger said.

Winning doubles matches early seem to be a key to the ‘Cats’ success on the court. The duos of McAndrew and Reilly, and Rybacki and senior captain Erica Walter were victorious in their matches against Lafayette. “The doubles point is very important and can sometimes be the deciding factor for some of our matches, so by concentrating on getting the doubles point early on, we not only gain momentum in the match, but it gives us even more momentum in our singles matches as well,” Walter said.

With the team undefeated and winning games against challenging teams, one might think they are unstoppable. Coach Reiniger says the biggest challenge for the team is injury prevention. “Right now I feel like our biggest challenge is staying healthy,” he said. “We have a few mild injuries but hopefully we’ll mend quickly.” One player that he is referring to is freshman Amanda O’Hearn, who is out indefinitely with a back injury.

Although the team has experienced these minor setbacks, they continue to practice hard and work together as a team. “We are definitely a unified team and we are very supportive of one another,” Walter said. “When we go out on the court, we don’t just think of ourselves and how our individual matches will fair, but we really want everyone to play well and do the best they can.”

The rest of the fall season looks promising for the Wildcats, and the team definitely believes that they can continue their winning streak. “The results so far for this season have really proved to us that the harder we work the more we can accomplish,” Walter said.

The squad has a busy week ahead, and hopes to continue in their success with back-to-back matches against Millersville on Oct. 1 and Delaware on Oct. 2.