Starting in 1998, the MCCC women’s tennis team established a dynasty that continued for more than a decade. The Vikings were national champions four times (1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005) and finished in second place four times (1998, 2001, 2006, and 2011). In 2002, during Head Coach Marc Vecchiolla’s fifth year, the team went 8-0 and captured the Region 19 title (5th in a row) and won the NJCAA National Tournament (3rd time in 5 years).
The 2002 team was exceptionally experienced, with four returning players from the 2000-2001 National Runner-up squad (Barb Pal, Sarah Bucon, Janine Hicks and Jill Matasovsky). The team was hungry to win the National Title from the moment the prior season ended. The team was dominant in the 2001 fall season going undefeated and winning the Region 19 crown. When returning from a match against SUNY Orange in mid-September, the players witnessed the smoke still billowing from New York City a few days after the tragedy of 9/11. These were times and moments in history this special team endured together.
In the spring of 2002, Mercer lost the services of their outstanding #4 singles player and 1st doubles player, who accepted a full-time employment position and did not return to college for the spring semester. At the National Championships in College Station, Texas, Mercer employed a strategy of leaving everyone in their regular flights and plugging in the vacant flights with #7 Melissa Eisenstein to 4th singles and #8 Mai Fajita joining team Captain, Barb Pal at 1st Doubles in lieu of moving everyone up one position. The strategy paid off as the Vikings edged the Fashion Institute of Technology (NY) by the slimmest of margins: just one point to earn the National title. Four players were named All-Americans (Sarah Bucon, Janine Hicks, Jill Matasovsky and Ya-ting Hsu).
There is a wonderful camaraderie amongst the players and coaches which has endured for decades. Congratulations to the 2002 Women’s National Champions!
Marc Vecchiolla, Head Coach
Ralph Bencivengo, Assistant
Barb Pleva, Assistant
