Photo by: TonyLeon/ActionWestPhotography.com
ORANGE, Calif. – The Whittier College women's tennis team opened up their 2012 campaign with a loss to No. 18 Chapman University 7-2 on Friday afternoon.
The Poets drop to 0-1 with a lot of tennis left to play, while Chapman moves to 3-0 after getting wins over Caltech and Cal Lutheran earlier in the week.
Whittier was down early after the Panthers took two of three in doubles. The No. 1 team of sophomores Liliana Serylo and Chloe Dredge won the lone point in doubles executing pinpoint returns and crisp net play along with taking care of their serve winning a clean match 8-4.
Then in a match of extreme momentum swings, the No. 3 team of senior Kady Oliker and freshman Benay Weintraub after jumping out to a quick 3-1 lead, dropped the next five games but stopped the run with a break and a hold of their own. It was not quite enough however as Chapman's three team of Sophia Duong and Cassady Sirois played the critical points better in the end to pull out the 8-6 victory.
Into singles Serylo continued where she left off last season at No. 1 as she backed up her 2nd Team All-SCIAC selection as she used a perfect mixture of offensive and defensive tennis, rallying from a set down to defeat Chapman's number one player Duong 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Serylo ended the match in style with a perfectly placed rainbow of a backhand topspin lob over the outstretch reach of her opponent to give the Poets another point.
But this would be the lone point for the Purple & Gold in singles as Chapman cruised to the 7-2 victory.
Things don't get any easier as the Lady Poets turn around to face the No. 7 Athena's of Claremont-M-S tomorrow morning beginning at 10am.
Doubles:
1. Serylo/Dredge (WC) def. Boyer/Logan (CU) 8-4
2. Danielle Kaiden/Kelly Klebenow (CU) def. Hamada/Gelgur (WC) 8-0
3. Duong/Sirios (CU) def. Weintraub/Oliker (WC) 8-6
Singles:
1. Liliana Serylo (WC) def. Sophia Duong (CU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
2. Danielle Kaiden (CU) def. Chloe Dredge (WC) 6-3, 6-1
3. Genna Ford (CU) def. Adrienne Hamada (WC) 7-5, 6-2
4. Melissa Boyer (CU) def. Kady Oliker (WC) 6-1, 6-1
5. Kelley Klebenow (CU) def. Benay Weintraub (WC) 6-0, 6-2
6. Cassady Sirois (CU) def. Lauren Gelgur (WC) 6-3, 6-1
