Under the teachings of head coach Mark Baker, the Oswego State women’s tennis team is riding higher than ever – and they have hit the pinnacle of team chemistry. 

The Lakers continued their dominating play Wednesday with a 7-0 victory over SUNY Fredonia at the Steel Hall Tennis Courts. Oswego swept all three doubles matches before winning all the single matches to secure the shutout. 

The triumphant win brought the Lakers to a seven-game win streak, as Bakers’ squad has not lost a match since Sept. 5. Since that shutout loss though, they have won 37 sets and dropped just three, to which Baker credits the all-around cohesiveness. 

“Everyone has really hit their stride,” Baker said. “Everyone is playing with a lot of confidence right now, and a big part of that has been our captain, Avery [Borman], and our senior Leah [Bell], who has brought a lot of good leadership.”

Bell stands as the lone senior on the team, while Borman is in the midst of her junior season. Both veterans have contributed heavily on a game-to-game basis, while also doubling as mentors to the five underclassmen on the team.

“It helps so much to have them lend a positive ear,” Baker said. “They put things in perspective, like it’s okay to make mistakes and there’s always something next to look forward to.”

It’s not just Bell and Borman who act as leaders of the team, either. Juniors Kate Hayes and Isabella Eason have emerged victorious in every doubles match since the win streak started, and the two continuously work to make the other better.

“They have really great chemistry together,” Baker said. “They’re very positive, upbeat people and they really lift each other up. They blend very well together – their personalities, game styles – everything about them is just a perfect match.”

While Hayes, Eason and company contribute a sense of competitiveness, urgency and composure – three headlines of the hot streak – Baker reminds his players of one thing day in and day out: to have fun. 

With the SUNYAC tournament kicking off in just a few weeks, Baker has been honing in on keeping the environment surrounding the Romney Courts joyous. 

“I always push them hard and they work really hard as a group, but keeping the mindset of ‘its fun, its tennis’ and no matter what, win or lose, the goal is to keep getting better one day at a time,” Baker said.

Like most other sports, Baker recognizes that it is a mental game. The early season struggles – including two consecutive shutout losses to SUNY Geneseo and RIT to open the season – could have had the Lakers holding their heads low for the remainder of the season.

However, Baker references the mental battles that his players have overcome to get to this point.

“From the beginning of the season until now, they’ve greatly improved in the mental area, which has really helped us in this win streak. We’ve had a lot of close matches and tough battles, but I think their toughness and their mentality, now and moving forward, will continue to allow us to be successful.” 

After all, the Lakers will need to be mentally prepared to the best of their abilities in the upcoming crucial stretch of play. An Oct. 3 battle with the near-flawless Plattsburgh State Cardinals is succeeded by a contest with Empire 8 foe Houghton University on Oct. 8, before the Lakers return to Oswego for a senior day matchup with SUNY Oneonta two days later.