Women's Tennis News Releases
Rams on short end of three tight losses during opening week
Coming up - Friday, Sept. 11, vs. UW-Stevens Point, Mount Vernon, 4 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 12, at Decorah, vs. Luther, 12 p.m., vs. UW-Eau Claire, 3 p.m.
Ram rewind - Caryl Abeyta (Eaton, Colo./Eaton) moved into the top 10 on Cornell's all-time wins list and freshman Kara Middleton (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) went undefeated in four singles matches as the Rams opened fall play last week.
Cornell came out on the short end of three tough-luck duals and finished the week 0-4. The Rams fell 5-4 at home to Central Sept. 1 and then dropped a double dual with Wartburg (5-4) and UW-La Crosse (8-1) Sept. 5 in Waverly. The team concluded the week Sept. 6 with a 5-4 home loss to Grinnell.
Abeyta, Cornell's lone senior, picked up three wins to raise her career win total to 96. She moved into a tie for ninth place on the school's all-time wins list with Christy Hamilton and Kristi Webster.
The Rams (0-4 overall, 0-2 Iowa Conference) got a boost from Middleton, who went 4-0 at No. 5 singles in her first week of college competition. Two of her wins, against Central and UW-La Crosse, were decided in a third-set super tiebreaker.
Cornell finished 11-13 in singles action with Abeyta, sophomore Kirsten Lasley (St. Paul, Minn./Saddlebrook) and freshman Alyssa Zavislak (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard South) each going 2-2.
The Rams mustered two doubles wins on the week, Middleton and Zavislak at No. 3 and Abeyta and Samantha De Gannes (Diego Martin, Trinidad/International School Port of Spain) at No. 1.
Grinnell 5, Cornell 4 (Sept. 6, at Mount Vernon)
Singles - Toby Cain (Gri) def. Samantha De Gannes 6-2, 6-3; Caryl Abeyta (Cor) def. Jill Akiyama 7-5, 6-0; Constanza Alarcon (Gri) def. Kirsten Lasley 6-4, 4-6, 10-3; Alyssa Zavislak (Cor) def. Tatyana Sukharnikova 6-1, 6-4; Kara Middleton (Cor) def. Kelsey Picken 6-2, 6-1; Elizabeth Spears (Gri) def. Devin Harmon 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 10-7. Doubles - De Gannes/Abeyta (Cor) def. Cain/Sukharnikova 8-4; Catherine Fitch/Alarcon (Gri) def. Lasley/Amanda Johnson 8-6; Akiyama/Picken (Gri) def. Zavislak/Middleton 9-7.
UW-La Crosse 8, Cornell 1 (Sept. 5, at Waverly)
Singles - Kelly Stadum (UW-L) def. De Gannes 6-0, 6-3; Carlie Bohrman (UW-L) def. Abeyta 6-1, 6-2; Jenny Maruyama (UW-L) def. Lasley 6-2. 6-0; Megan Fallon (UW-L) def, Zavislak 6-1, 6-0; Middleton (Cor) def. Mara Weiner 6-2, 0-6, 10-8; Anna Schmidt (UW-L) def, Johnson 6-4, 6-2. Doubles - Stadum/Maruyama (UW-L) def. De Gannes/Abeyta 8-6; Fallon/Bohrman (UW-L) def. Lasley/Harmon 8-4; Lindsay Seccombe/Katie McDonald (UW-L) def. Zavislak/ Middleton 8-5.
Wartburg 5, Cornell 4 (Sept. 5, at Waverly)
Singles - Molly Eslick (War) def. De Gannes 6-2, 6-1; Abeyta (Cor) def. Leanna Nelson 6-4, 6-7, 11-9; Lasley (Cor) def. Emily Heying 2-6, 7-5, 11-9; Jenny Dallenbach (War) def. Zavislak 7-5, 6-2; Middleton (Cor) def. Lindsay Greiner 6-1, 6-1; Leanna Jenkins (War) def. Johnson 6-3, 6-0; Doubles - Eslick/Nelson (War) def. De Gannes/Abeyta 8-1; Heying/Greiner (War) def. Lasley/Harmon 8-3; Zavislak/Middleton (Cor) def. Jenkins/Dallenbach 9-7.
Central 5, Cornell 4 ( Sept. 1, at Mount Vernon)
Singles - Sara Dale (Cen) def. Abeyta 6-3, 6-2; Lasley (Cor) def. Faith Bliss 6-7 (10-12), 6-1, 10-8; De Gannes (Cor) def. Emily Swartz 6-0, 6-2; Zavislak (Cor) def. Stephanie Gibbons (Cen) 6-4, 6-0; Middleton (Cor) def. Kayla Donner 6-2, 1-6, 10-7; Jaime Ruisch (Cen) def. Johnson 6-4, 6-4; Doubles - Bliss/Donner (Cen) def. Abeyta/Lasley 8-4; Gibbons/ Sara Dale (Cen) def. De Gannes/Zavislak 8-4; Swartz/Trinh Le (Cen) def. Middleton/Harmon 8-5.
