Alma, MI – Alma College Tennis opened their season with a pair of home matches over the weekend. The Scots got off to a stellar start, posting wins in 3 of the 4 matches played.
Notably, this was the first weekend of Alma action with Division III utilizing the new collegiate team scoring method. The new system awards one team point based on the result of all three doubles matches, as opposed to point-per-match scoring. This reduces the total number of points available from 9 to 7, and prioritizes singles play.
Women
Alma 7, Spring Arbor 0
Alma got off to a roaring start, posting a 7-0 victory in their season opener. In doubles play, the team of
Kayla Weller and
Leah Wronikowski combined to win 6-4 at #1 doubles.
Sophia Hauffe and
Karly Kushner won 7-5 at #2, and
Annie Ross and
Holly Hall picked up a 6-3 win at #3 doubles.
Moving to singles play, Kushner won 6-0, 6-3. Wronikowski scored an identical 6-0, 6-3 victory at #2 singles. #3 singles saw Weller post a 6-2, 6-1. Freshman Sophie Hauffe collected a 6-2, 6-0 decision at #4. Playing at 5, a 6-2, 6-1 final saw
Annie Ross claim the win.
Holly Hall finished things off at #6, winning 6-0, 6-3.
Alma 6, Aquinas 1
The Scots picked up where they left off on Sunday, with a resounding win over Aquinas. The duo of Weller-Wronikowski won 6-3 at #1 doubles, and Hauffe-Kushner scored a 6-4 dub at #2. The Ross-Hall pairing won via walkover to give Alma the doubles point in the match.
At #2 singles, Wronikowski won 6-2, 6-0. Weller was victorious at #3 via a 6-1, 6-1 decision. Hauffe recorded a 6-1, 6-2 win at #4. Ross and Hall both were awarded wins via walkover in singles play.
Men
Spring Arbor 6, Alma 1
In their season opener, the Scots men were felled 6-1. Despite a 6-2 win from the #2 doubles pairing of
Eli Festerling and
August Sack, Spring Arbor was able to take the doubles point.
Despite Alma's best effort, the lone singles victory of the afternoon came from
August Sack at #2, who won 6-4, 6-3.
Alma 4, Aquinas 3
On Sunday, the Scots hosted Aquinas College, battling to a narrow 4-3 victory. Unlike Saturday, Alma was able to claim the doubles point in the match. This was thanks to a 6-4 win from the Festerling-Sack pairing, and a 6-3 decision in favor of
Daniel Hickey and
John Laxton.
The doubles point meant that Alma needed just 3 singles wins to claim victory. Sack earned a victory at #2, 7-5, 6-3.
Ashton Trnka joined in to push the match to the edge at #4 singles, winning 6-3, 6-2. In the end it was the freshman
Daniel Hickey who clinched victory for the Scots in his debut weekend, winning 6-3, 6-2 at #6 singles.
Alma's women are off to a 2-0 start, and the men at 1-1 after the opening weekend. The teams are off for 2 weeks, before heading to Albion College for the annual doubles tournament.
