ELSAH, IL – The Principia Women's Tennis team played their 2024 home opener on Saturday morning against the University of Saint Mary, a NAIA school from Kansas. This was the first official match played on the new court surfaces and under the improved lighting of the recently renovated Hexberg Tennis Center. The contest was a very close battle that came down to a third set tiebreaker the final singles match as Principia came away victorious, 5-4.
Even though only two Panthers won both their matches on the day, all the members of the team had outstanding moments. A crucial point for the team was at #3 doubles where
Saray Hernandez Cisneros and
Kimbeley Peterson began the match down 5-0. After some early nerves, the pair calmed down knowing that they had made errors by going for too much. As they settled down, they put many more balls in play and mixed up driving forehands with some lobs and off-speed returns. Cisneros moved back from the net and hit her forcing ground strokes, while Peterson moved closer to the next and put away volleys. Through their savvy adjustments, the duo rattled off 8 of the next 9 games to take the match 8-6.
The Panthers' lone freshman,
Mafe Quintero, had a great debut as she went 2-0 without dropping a set at #3 singles and #2 doubles. She plays a strong, all-court game and can hit driving ground strokes that set up her volleys. She teamed up with her older sister,
Gaby Quintero, for a strong 8-5 doubles win. Gaby had a grueling #4 singles match that went to a 10-point tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets. She was down at least 6 match points that she was able to fend off. Neither player could win back-to-back points until her opponent finally prevailed 16-14.
Principia's #1,
Bissola Lassissi, also lost her singles match in a third set tiebreaker. After losing the first set 6-1, she fought back to take the second set 6-3 by playing a more steady game and moving her opponent around the court. The 10-point tiebreaker had several outstanding rallies between the teams' two top players. Down 6-3, Lassissi fought back to 6-6, but her opponent dug in and ran down several shots, followed by delivering some winning drop shots to take the match.
With the overall match tied 4-4, the two #6 singles players split the first two sets to set up a tiebreaker for the win. Principia's
Veronica Volkart played steely tennis in this third set as she was determined to get the team a W and not have another Panther fall in a 10-point tiebreaker. She came back from being down early 3-1 with steady play to get to match point up 9-4. The two women then played a long and gritty point as Volkart came to the net and made several tough volleys which her opponent returned and sent one over her head. At 9-5, Volkart put in a strong first serve followed by a powerful forehand to force an error and win the match.
Ruth Hummell worked on improving her steady game as she played an exhibition singles match against Saint Mary's #7. Ruth was resilient and persevered through many long rallies, ultimately losing 8-6.
The women on the Saint Mary team competed well and fought hard as they have great footwork. They poach often in doubles, and it was a great showing for the Panthers to demonstrate resilience and problem solving over the course of the matches. The team is learning to let their mistakes go and move onto our committed actions for the day. Ultimately, this was just the first match of a long season ahead, and it was great for tthe Panthers to face their nerves and come through victorious. More growth opportunities come next weekend with two away matches.
Up Next: The Principia women will travel to Arkansas next Saturday for a tri-match against Hendrix College and the University of the Ozarks.
