The Grinnell College women’s tennis team had a solid showing over the weekend at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships and the Gustavus Fall Invite, both in St. Peter, Minn.
Sadhana Athreya ’14 (pictured) advanced to the round of 16 in Regional singles play, beating opponents from Hamline and Carthage before falling to ninth-seeded Andrea Rognlien of Concordia.
Winning one match each in the singles championship bracket were Toby Cain ’12, Hanna Feldman ’14 and Shirlene Luk ’15.
In doubles play, Cain and Luk posted a first-round victory before falling in the round of 16.
“Being able to take a large group of players to the ITAs was a great experience for us, as we got to play against at least half of the region’s best players,” said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. “As the weekend went on, I saw our level of play get better and better. The weekend will prove to be a great physical conditioner for us.
“Sadhana’s play in singles was definitely the highlight as she advanced to the round of 16,” he continued. “Her play in this tournament is the best I’ve seen from a Grinnell individual. We’re pleased she’s becoming more and more a bona fide No. 1 player for our team.
“Hanna and Shirlene picked up nice victories in the first round against opponents from Wisconsin-Whitewater, and that is a solid program so their victories should be noted as quality wins,” he continued. “Clo Thirouin ’14 and Constanza Alarcon ’13 posted one of their biggest wins by beating Luther’s No. 1 doubles team. They continue to gel as a unit and I’m excited to see how they finish. Toby and Shirlene had quality first-round wins against a team from Wisconsin-Stout, and then they ran into the top seed from Carleton. They played very good doubles against that team, though.”
Hamilton also cited some players for their efforts in the Gustavus event. “Emma Macdonald ’14 played very well in singles to start the day, and then she and Hanna moved into doubles play,” he said. “After falling in the first round to Luther’s No. 3 team, they went on to win the consolation championship. I’m pleased with the way they came together as a doubles tandem since they haven’t played together for a while. I also saw many of the techniques we’ve been working on in practice for doubles come to the forefront in their consolation wins. Their championship capped our weekend as we prepared to head back to Iowa.”
The Pioneers have a busy weekend coming up in Wisconsin, meeting Beloit College and St. Norbert College on Saturday and Carroll University and Lawrence University on Sunday.
