Lady's Tennis serving success

THE SUFFOLK JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 15, 2008

Mike Giannattasio
Journal Staff

The Suffolk University Womens' tennis team kept their seven game winning streak alive with a 7-2 home win versus Saint Joseph College on Saturday afternoon at the Buckingham Browne & Nichols courts in Cambridge, Mass. With the win, the Lady Rams improved to 9-2 overall on the season.

Alex Hernandez, a sophomore and captain of the Lady Ram's team, said she enjoys many aspects about being a part of the team, especially all the people she has met.

"My favorite part about being a tennis player for Suffolk is the people I have met along the way," said Hernandez, who is originally from Newton, Mass. and majors in Psychology. "I have made so many friendships that I know will be long term."

In her role as captain of the team, Hernandez said she tries to show good leadership when she is in and out of uniform.

"As a captain I consider it my job to motivate the girls, and try my best to lead by example on and off the court," said Hernandez. "It is my first year being captain, and I am only a sophomore, so I am just trying to do my best and see how it goes."

The other captain of the team, Kaitlynn Cates, a junior and originally from Middlebury, Connecticut, also has many responsibilities as captain of the team."I want to make sure everyone is organized and prepared for each match," said Cates. "One of my jobs is to make sure that we've all united and come together, and we've come a long way so far this year."

The coach of the Lady Rams, Isaac Stahl, said he has had a great time coaching his team this year and seeing them come together.

"They are the greatest group, with truly dynamic personalities," said Stahl. We are playing great tennis right now and we are looking to continue our success throughout the entire season on route to another conference title."

The win against St. Joseph's and the current seven match winning streak are the proof to Stahl's words.

"Our strength is team chemistry. They work hard and fight for each other. Doubles and team focus has been an issue, but we are really hitting our stride and firing on all cylinders," added Stahl.

The Lady Rams finished with a 14-0 overall record last season and also won their first ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship. Stahl hopes they can do the same exact thing this year.

"I want us to repeat as GNAC Champions, and anything less would be a disappointment," he said.Hernandez has the same goal for the team, as well as many others she hopes to accomplish before the year is over.

"My goals for the team this season were to defend the GNAC title and to go to NCAA's again in the spring," said Hernandez. "Another goal for the team I had was for the team to become a unit. By this I mean I wanted us to all get along and be more like a family. Like any family we have our ups and downs, but we have stuck by each other and that's what is important."

Cates added that the effort they put in practices will determine how successful they end up at the end of the season.

"If we work hard, we will achieve our main goal, which is repeating as GNAC champions," said Cates.

The Lady Rams go for their tenth win of the season in a home match versus the University of Massachusetts-Boston Oct. 14.

This article was published in The Suffolk Journal.To view The Suffolk Journal web-site please visit http://www.suffolkjournal.net/
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