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Women's Tennis Team: National Champs Again
6/19/02
He notes that the tournament was highly competitive, making the victory even sweeter. "There were seven teams, and no pushovers," said Vecchiolla. "Every match was a nail biter." Several key matches were come-from-behind wins.
Losing the No. 4 singles and No. 1 doubles player from the fall season, Vecchiolla decided against moving everybody up one slot. Instead he kept his players in their positions and filled in with less experienced players where necessary and hoped for the best. The strategy worked as Mercer scored 25 points, edging out the Fashion Institute of New York by one point.
Mercer won five of the nine flights. Janine Hicks (#3), Jill Matasovsky (#5) and Yating Hsu (#6) won singles titles, as did Sarah Bucon and Hicks in second doubles, and Hsu and Matasovsky in third doubles. Also putting in an outstanding effort were Team Captain Barbara Pal (#1), Melissa Eisenstein and Mai Fujita.
Vecchiolla reports that the ladies were thrilled with the win, particularly the four returning players from last year's squad which had failed to win the title by just 1-1/2 points. Four players were named All-Americans: Bucon, who holds the record for most matches won in Mercer history (44), Hicks, Matasovsky and Hsu; they join 13 others who have been named to the All-American list in five seasons.
Vecchiolla notes that there will be many slots open on next year's team. "We don't want to scare people off with our national titles. As long as players have had tennis experience, we encourage them to come out," he said.