The Oswego State women’s tennis team competed in a gritty trio of tests, with matchups against Plattsburgh State, SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Cortland, from Sept. 26 through Oct. 1.

The Lakers traveled to Plattsburgh to open up competition with the Cardinals on Sep. 26. Emily DeLuca and Leah Bell were dealt a difficult hand of cards in the first set of the day, as they fell 6-4 to Jacklin Mitchell and Ava Carey. However, a spirited team effort put the Lakers right back into the swing of things, as the dynamic duo of Avery Borman and Sabrina Achki blanked their opponent in a 6-0 shutout. Kate Hayes and Isabella Eason competed in a back-and-forth duel, but the two prevailed and came out on top, 6-4, to conclude the first three matchups of the day and head into the next slew of sets with a strong reputation.

The Lakers swiftly handled business in the singles portion, as Borman secured a 2-0 victory in the first game. Achki controlled the tempo in her matchup as she shut out Carey, followed by a grueling three-set bout from Bell and Ava Perry, in which Bell picked up the win, 2-1. DeLuca and Kristy Cantwell then faced off, replicating what happened in the previous outing. The two also went to three sets, with DeLuca putting on a dominant showing in the final one to claim a 2-1 victory. Eason had no issues taking down Carmen Marino, 2-0, while Hayes pushed things to the limit in three sets against Marena Tubo, but kept her composure in an authoritative final set to come out on top, 10-3 and take the game, 2-1.

The Lakers faced a tough reality the following day, when they were swept by undefeated in-conference powerhouse, SUNY New Paltz, on Sept. 27. Justine Stanejko and Sam Ostrander ran the table with DeLuca and Bell in a 2-0 victory, succeeded by an offensive clinic from Patrycja Filonik and Olivia Kunz, as they took a shutout win. Hayes and Eason put up a fight in the final set, but ultimately fell short to the fierce rackets of Angelica Gabriel and Nina Genzone, 6-3.

The woes continued for the Lakers in the latter half of the day, as the singles opened up with Borman and Achki each falling in two sets, while Bell and DeLuca struggled to gain momentum and both lost 2-0. Eason and Hayes both put forth respectable efforts in the final two matches of the day, but the calculated schemes of the Hawks proved to be too much, as the usually-dynamic duo was blanked.

The Lakers stormed back to record a victory over Cortland on Oct. 1. DeLuca and Bell initialized the onslaught, when the two quickly took down Lisa Schulz and Christina Massoni, 6-1. Ashlyn Feneck and Borman fought tooth and nail to pull out a 7-5 win, followed by a sound 6-1 win, courtesy of Eason and Hayes, to close out the doubles segment.

Borman headed the Lakers’ singles attack with a 6-1 win, but Bell unfortunately fell to Massoni, 2-0, in the next. However, DeLuca re-lit the spark back up with a triumphant 2-0 victory against Stanley and Eason kept it going with yet another shutout. The final two matches were split, as Hayes gained a straightforward win in her two sets; however, first-year racketeer Hannah Freed was knocked down, 2-0 and 6-3 in both of the two sets, by Olivia Kirch.

The 7-1 Lakers currently sit at No. 2 in SUNYAC – one spot above Cortland, but one below New Paltz. They receive a break before they head to Binghamton, New York, for the conference championships on Oct. 17 and 18.