The women’s tennis team had a rough weekend, ending their season with losses against Penn and Princeton.
On Friday, the Red just missed victory as Penn slipped by, 4-3.
“The Penn match was one of our most exciting matches,” said senior co-captain Sinziana Chis. “It was really close, really fun and came down to the last match. Unfortunately, we lost but it was a great battle and a really fun match to play.”
This was the last home match of the season.
“Penn was a very close match. It literally came down to a few points,” said senior co-captain Ruxandra Dumitrescu. “I think [that] we as a team thought that was our best performance in the sense that we really put everything on the court — no one had any regrets. Of course it [is upsetting] when it doesn’t go in your favor when a match is so close, but we were really proud of our growth as a team and how we all supported each other.”
On Sunday, Cornell faced Princeton on the road — falling by a score of 6-1.
“Princeton was a little tougher,” Chis said. “The conditions were a little windier and colder. We never played quite as well as we would have liked or did at Penn but they are a really strong team.”
Even at the very end, the team remains positive.
“We did put up a good fight and I think that just a little more improvement and we are kind of neck-to-neck with all of these teams,” Dumitrescu said. “We were able to prove to ourselves that we have what it takes as a team. The next years as the team gets better and better, it has a chance to get the close ones to go in our favor.”
The girls reminisced about the season that had just ended.
“It has been a really good season, a great team and I loved being a part of it,” Chis said. “I am definitely happy with how the season went.”
For both Chis and Dumitrescu, as well as senior Leah Seyburn, Sunday marked the end of an era — the end of their Cornell tennis careers.
“It’s definitely a little weird being done forever,” Chis said. “It’s always emotional. It’s bittersweet. It hasn’t really hit us I think that we wont be here next year.”
“Part of me is to sad that part of my life end,” Dumitrescu said. “At the same time, I am looking forward to the next part of my life. I feel like I got everything I could have from these past four years, so I’m happy I don’t have any regrets. But, it’s weird thinking I don’t have any more matches — especially in a competitive setting. I’ll probably play some tournaments, but a team like this will never be again, so that’s definitely a weird feeling. At the same time, I am taking the positives — I am just happy to have had the chance to play for Cornell.”
Although they will not be here next year, the girls still feel like they are a part of the future of Cornell women’s tennis.
“[The Penn match] was kind of a positive note for one of our last matches … it was a happy note to end on because we realize that as a team we grew throughout the season and we improved. The younger members know what to work on next year they can make it 4-3 in our favor,” Dumitrescu said.
Original Author: Dani Abada