Falcons Hang On Through Singles Play To Hand Alvernia 5-4 Loss
Posted: 10/3/2009
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Senior Annie Gotchel was one of three Falcons to claim three-set wins in singles play Saturday.

By Jansen Hein, GoMessiah.com reporter
Reading, PA — Saturday housed a rollercoaster match between Messiah and new Commonwealth Conference opponent Alvernia University on the Knights’ home court.

Thankfully for the Falcons, the ride ended on an upswing.

With both teams fighting for position within the league standings, it was Messiah that edged the Knights by a 5-4 score, the program’s closest match since a 5-4 decision over conference rival Elizabethtown College on Sept. 13 of last year.  

Saturday’s doubles matches were fast-paced and challenging, as both teams came out swinging in hopes of producing a positive start to the day. Alvernia (7-2, 2-2) arose victorious in this first area of competition, taking both first and second doubles from the Falcons. Senior Christie McGinley and junior Stacey Clark were unable to match the pace of Alvernia’s Jeny McKee and Kayla Morgan at first doubles, losing 8-4.  

“It could have gone either way,” noted McGinley after the match.  

Clark added, “They were aggressive at the net and had solid serves. We played well but it just was not enough today.”

Senior Annie Gotchel and sophomore Sarah Thow succumbed to the same fate at second doubles, losing 8-2 to the Crusaders. Alvernia took momentum at the beginning of the match and held strong to finish the match without relinquishing it.

The Messiah third doubles team of juniors Steph Knepper and Katie Marstaller seized the same momentum held by Alvernia just one court over, however, as the Falcons’ third doubles unit put together a strong 8-4 performance to give Messiah hope for victory in the match. The consistently successful combo moved to 2-1 in conference play on the season at the third doubles flight, while the singular win in doubles became just enough to hurl the Falcons to victory.

Heading into singles play, Messiah was down 1-2 and needed to win two thirds of the remaining matches to capture the team win. Despite this uphill battle, Messiah’s desire to retain their position in the conference standings proved too much for Alvernia. Wins at second, fourth, fifth and sixth singles gave Messiah the 5-4 edge over their opponents, concluding a crazy day of tennis in Reading, Pa.  

McGinley and Marstaller were the only two Messiah players unable to come away with singles wins on the day. McGinley fell to a strong opponent in Jenny McKee by a 6-3, 6-2 score, with long, consistent rallies followed by strong finishing strokes proving to be the magic strategy for McKee.

Marstaller fell in tougher fashion, taking her opponent to a close three-set match before falling by a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 decision.  

It was one of four singles matches decided in three sets, as Messiah would claim the other three.  

Clark, Gotchel, and Knepper all proved victorious in their respective three set matches, eventually outlasting the Crusaders en route to the team win. After getting sucked into slow, “push style” play of Alvernia’s Lauren Ertel in the first set, Clark went big and aggressive in the second to bring the set score to one each in the number two singles flight. Personal ball placement and use of the net in the third propelled her to victory — 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Similarly, consistent pace aided Gotchel in her singles first set score of 6-1. Her opponent, Morgan, was able to break Gotchel’s dynamic serve in her control of the second set, as Gotchel would not accept defeat after winning the first set. She went back to fighting for each point and playing consistent, and her adjustment worked well as she took claimed the fourth singles match 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.  

Knepper had a match characterized by large swings in momentum at number five singles. After winning a decisive 6-1 first set, she surrendered a devastating 2-6 second set. Even after losing the second set by such a large margin, Knepper was able to turn around and utterly control the third set, delivering her opponent a 6-2 final set score.  

Junior Kristen Chen, back in the lineup after having a few matches off, took care of business with a strong 6-3, 6-3 win for the Falcons at the number six singles spot, setting the table for her teammates to garner the team’s overall victory. Chen struggled through errors early and late in the first set. However, she was able to grind through the first and didn’t look back in the second. Her aggressive approach of short balls and movement of her opponent were a winning combination.  

Messiah will look to use this win as momentum for its final three regular-season matches of the fall — all Commonwealth Conference opponents. The Falcons will return to the court Wednesday afternoon, when they host rival Lebanon Valley College. Match time is set for 3:30 p.m.