On Saturday, Feb. 21, Villanova women’s tennis returned home to the Villanova Tennis Complex after nine consecutive matches on the road, and claimed a 4-0 win against Colgate.
Although the Wildcats (5-5, 1-0 Big East) were scheduled for a home match against the Red Raiders (2-5, 0-1 Patriot League), city traffic made the commute that of an away game. The typically 55-minute trip to the complex took nearly two hours, limiting warm-up time for the Wildcats.
“It was the same [travel time] as an away game,” head coach Steve Reiniger said. “It was a little hectic, a little stressful and the team got a real short warm-up. I was pleased with them. They handled it well.”
Villanova set the tone early, claiming the doubles point with wins on courts one and three.
Sophomore Olivia Corcoran and junior Maddie Hills won, 6-1, over the Colgate pairing on court three. On court one, seniors Emi Callahan and Maddie Gehrig earned a 7-5 win, securing Villanova the first point of the match.
“We started slow in doubles,” Reiniger said. “But eventually, we won the doubles point, and we played pretty well in singles, not dropping a set.”
Following the doubles round, the Wildcats captured three-straight set wins to seal the shutout.
“We played to clinch,” Reiniger said. “Because of the court situation, we were sharing with the men, so both programs played to clinch, trying to make it a shorter match.”
At court No. 1, Corcoran earned her first official win of the season, beating her opponent 6-3, 6-4.
“Olivia Corcoran got her first official win,” Reiniger said. “She had a lot of matches where she was up, and we were just playing to clinch, so she didn’t get credit, like at Army and Sacred Heart, so it was nice for her to get an actual win in the scorebook, at No. 1 singles.”
Then, at court No. 2, Gehrig claimed a 6-1, 6-4 win. Jenna Stevens, who typically plays at court No. 4, won at court No. 3, 7-6 and 6-0.
“We were missing our No. 3, Miriam Gondorova, who was injured, so everybody moved up,” Reigner said. “Jenna, who usually plays at 4, played at 3, and she beat a decent girl ranked higher than her. She played really well.”
Looking ahead, the women’s tennis team will next play North Carolina A&T State (1-0) and Saginaw Valley State (2-1) on March 3, before playing St. Bonaventure on March 5.
“Spring Break will be an opportunity for us to get everybody involved,” Reiniger said. “It’ll be nice to see everybody playing and make sure I’m not missing anything. It’s tough on the team when you’re not actually in the matches to stay sharp and to stand out, so it’ll be good to see everybody get a chance to play.”
After March break, the team will play Loyola University Chicago at the Villanova Tennis Complex on March 14.
