Megan MillikenDespite the Lady Cavs astounding 9-0 win against Rosemont, the women’s tennis match held on Friday, Sept. 23 proved to be a big bore. The entire event severely lacked competitive spirits; as a result, the on-lookers were forced to sit through a couple hours of dry emotionless tennis.
Though a necessary part of their roster, this was an undisputable mismatch if there ever was one. On the one side, there was the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference giants, Cabrini, with an undefeated record; on the other side of the courts was Rosemont, a team that had been dramatically humbled by a devastating conference record of six losses and one solitary win.
As Cabrini and Rosemont warmed-up, approximately ten minutes prior to the start of their match, smiles were beaming from their faces and bits of laughter could be heard coming from Cabrini’s home courts . Unlike previous matches, tension, nerves and competitive spirits were virtually non-existent. In fact, they didn’t even appear like two teams who were preparing to fight for a victory.
Then again, if they had looked at the facts then they had known that there was not going to be a fight for the win. The Lady Cavaliers were the obvious favorites, destined to end this match on top. Cabrini knew it and so did their opponents.
With the winner having been determined before the start of the match, it is no surprise why the teams interacted so pleasantly with one another. There was no pretending and no need for intimidation. The only thing they needed to do was get through the match as quickly as possible.
Little changed once the actual match commenced. The Cavs remained free of frustration and set on winning; while, no hope and absolutely no motivation could be sensed from the Rosemont side. They were simply going through the motions, hardened by their previous losses.
For the most part, Cabrini would swing at the tennis ball propelling it to Rosemont’s side of the court only to have it returned by an unskilled swing. Though rare, there were several occasions in which the ball remained in motion for a few swings. But, for the most part there was no back and forth tug of war in this match.
By the end, Cabrini’s women’s tennis team had performed exactly as they had expected. They crushed the opposition, managing to keep them from winning as little as one match. Although this achieving this victory did not take much out of Cabrini’s team, it was still an essential win, which enabled them to maintain their absolutely flawless conference record.
The very next day, after relentlessly beating Rosemont, the Cavs went on to compete again. This time, they were called to face Albright, a non-conference team. This specific team’s abilities were slightly better than Rosemont’s. Not only were they a more skillful team, but they were also a fiery bunch. Rather than display their intimidation, Albright went out on the courts against Cabrini and gave it their personal best.
By doing so, they were able to defeat the Cavs in two singles matches. In spite of their diligence, the end results proved that they were no competition for the Lady Cavaliers. “We were confident in our abilities to beat Albright. I mean we did it last year 6-3,” explained Senior Rachel Shore. For the second time in a two day span, Cabrini’s team walked off the tennis courts with another win, 7-2, for their record book.
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Posted to the web by Brian Coary
