2008 Woodie Awards
Slamming Straight in to a Winning Season
Bryn Swartz
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Sports
The Messiah Falcons women's tennis team started off the 2007 season with a promising 4-1 record. Unfortunately, a late season collapse cost the Falcons their chance of a winning record. This season, the women's team has also started with a 4-1 record, on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
The women's tennis team consists of seven players: juniors Christie McGinley and Annie Gotchel; sophomores Stacey Clark, Steph Knepper, and Katie Marstaller; and first-year students Leah Bowlin and Sarah Thow. Interestingly enough, the team has no senior players, as Leah Bradshaw graduated last year after a stellar four-year career.
Messiah plays six singles and three doubles matches per opponent. Overall this season, the Falcons have outscored their opponents by a solid margin, winning 27 of 45 matches, including 19 out of 30 in the singles department.
First-year student Sarah Thow has fared particularly well this season, winning all four of her singles matches, including a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing versus Arcadia University. Katie Marstaller and Christie McGinley have also won their last four singles matches.
Christie McGinley provided one of the more exciting matches of the season against Elizabethtown College on September 13th. McGinley was shut out in the first set, but came back in a dramatic fashion, taking the second set 6-3 and the tiebreaker 7-6, showing that she truly has the heart of a champion.
Expectations remain high for the Falcons tennis season, as Head Coach Sheila Bush and Assistant Coach Nate Ipsen are confident that the team can continue its early season dominance, hopefully en route to its first winning season since 2006.
The women's tennis team consists of seven players: juniors Christie McGinley and Annie Gotchel; sophomores Stacey Clark, Steph Knepper, and Katie Marstaller; and first-year students Leah Bowlin and Sarah Thow. Interestingly enough, the team has no senior players, as Leah Bradshaw graduated last year after a stellar four-year career.
Messiah plays six singles and three doubles matches per opponent. Overall this season, the Falcons have outscored their opponents by a solid margin, winning 27 of 45 matches, including 19 out of 30 in the singles department.
First-year student Sarah Thow has fared particularly well this season, winning all four of her singles matches, including a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing versus Arcadia University. Katie Marstaller and Christie McGinley have also won their last four singles matches.
Christie McGinley provided one of the more exciting matches of the season against Elizabethtown College on September 13th. McGinley was shut out in the first set, but came back in a dramatic fashion, taking the second set 6-3 and the tiebreaker 7-6, showing that she truly has the heart of a champion.
Expectations remain high for the Falcons tennis season, as Head Coach Sheila Bush and Assistant Coach Nate Ipsen are confident that the team can continue its early season dominance, hopefully en route to its first winning season since 2006.
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