October 29, 2008

Junior Sanchez Enjoys Success at ITA Tourney

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While the men’s tennis team finished its draws last weekend at Yale, the women’s tennis team was still playing this past weekend at the ITA Regionals. However, four days into the women’s tournament, only two girls remained alive at the contest in Philadelphia — the doubles pair of freshman Stephanie Kent and junior Natalia Sanchez. Sanchez also made it up to the third round of her singles bracket, losing to the No. 8 seed, Janet Kim, from Yale.
“I was very happy, we did a really good job,” Sanchez said. “The girl from Yale was a very good player. … She won a couple tournaments this year.”
In the second round, Sanchez beat a home-court opponent, Lauren Sadaka of Penn.
In doubles play, Sanchez and Kent also progressed to the third round, where they lost to Charleen Haarhoff and Nadine Fahoum of Old Dominion — a team that went on to win the doubles title.
Lately, things have been looking up for head coach Barry Schoonmaker’s team, though. This is his first year coaching the women’s team after several years as the men’s head coach.
“We’ve been improving,” Sanchez said. “In this tournament, yes, we lost in the third round, but we played some tough opponents.”
The men’s team will conclude its fall season next weekend, while the women will enjoy a reprieve before hitting the courts again Nov. 7 at the Purdue Invitational.