The Falcons tennis team finished off a sweep this weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana, where they defeated the Indianapolis-Purdue Jaguars on Saturday and the Indianapolis Greyhounds on Sunday.
The first match was never a contest, though the Jaguars did manage to win the first doubles match 7-5, followed by the Falcons winning the other two 6-2 and 6-0 and gaining the first key point of the match.
Once singles matches began, the Falcons route of the Jaguars started as all seven girls defeated their opponents in two straight sets, finishing with the final score of 6-0.
The following day against the Greyhounds was not as lopsided as the previous match, but it led to the same result and that was another comfortable victory for the Falcons winning by an overall score of 5 – 1.
The Greyhounds were not able to gain a point in doubles, as they were swept 8 – 6, 9 – 8 and 8 – 2. In singles, the Falcons only suffered one defeat, but according to Coach Stephanie Dalmacio, the whole weekend went great, even if it was a little different.
“It was a great weekend for us, we’re just happy we were able to get the two wins on the road,” Dalmacio said. “I think we had a couple of challenges as far as yesterday’s format playing a Division two school. It was different than what we’re used to. The goal was to deal with adversity and to make the best out of it, and we definitely did that.”
Dalmacio pointed out that the second match of the weekend was much more of a battle than the first round, but no matter who it is, a win is a win in her mind.
“We fought until the end and were able to get the win,” Dalmacio said. “The day before was a much easier match. Thinking about that, we played them last year when we only had five players and won that, so I was hoping it was going to go easy this year against them having more players and just playing a higher level of tennis as well.”
Last weekend, Dalmacio mentioned that the team started off a bit slow out of the gate, but she was happy with the improvement they showed this weekend, but still wants to see more.
“We definitely improved, but it’s not where we need to be yet, but hopefully with a few more matches here before spring break, we can get there before MAC season,” Dalmacio said.
Junior Polina Radeva once again continued her undefeated campaign this weekend in singles matches, but due to the Falcons already securing enough points for the victory, Dalmacio cut the match short.
The Falcons have three more matches coming up before spring break. While she Dalmacio said she’d be lying if she and her players weren’t thinking about the break coming up, they have some business to take care of first.
“Obviously, we have some very tough matches coming up, very recognized teams, you know, nationally ranked teams, but we’re going to battle hard and we’ll see how the next matches come out here,” Dalmacio said.
Speaking of spring break, Dalmacio sees it as a fun opportunity, a bonding experience, for her team, but she wants them to make sure her team knows tennis will still be on their mind.
“We will actually travel as a team and have one match on spring break in San Diego,” she said. “I like to give the girls different experiences with them being all foreigners and traveling a lot. We’re going to be practicing a lot in San Diego; they have a couple of days where they can do whatever they want, but they know spring break for us means work. But we’re excited, they deserve it.”
The Falcons’ next upcoming match will be next Saturday afternoon, where they will take on the Cleveland State Vikings in Cleveland, Ohio in hopes of improving their record to 6 – 1 on the year.
