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Shorthanded Squad Returns To Play, Drops 7-2 Match At Goucher
Posted: 9/16/2009
Box Score | More Women's Tennis news
Junior Katie Marstaller notched one of Messiah's team points Wednesday.

By Jansen Hein, GoMessiah.com reporter
Baltimore, MD — After a pair of rain delays, the Messiah women’s tennis program finally found enough of a break in the weather to get a match in Wednesday, traveling to Goucher College for what would end up being a long, tough day. The host Gophers made the most of a sweep in doubles play to come away with a 7-2 decision, handing the Falcons their first defeat of the season.

Messiah (1-1) arrived without the services of its top singles and doubles player, as senior Christie McGinley was out with an illness. Despite this setback, the team arrived at the match ready to play.  

And while Goucher (2-0) would eventually claim all three doubles sessions, each was a nail biter on all accounts.  Messiah’s first doubles team of juniors Stacey Clark and Kristen Chen started the match off slow by falling behind 2-5 in the pro set, but bounced back and claimed a lead at 7-6. Unfortunately, Clark and Chen were unable to take the set outright and were forced into a tiebreaker. The Falcons ran out of gas as they lost the breaker without ever holding the lead in the set-deciding game by a 9-8 (7-4) score.

After also finding themselves also down early senior Annie Gotchel and sophomore Sarah Thow made a run to get back into the hunt for the match at number two doubles. A combination of consistent long rallies from Thow jived well with the occasional powerfully placed volleys from Gotchel, as the tandem worked to come back from an initial 3-0 deficit. In the end, however, Messiah’s second doubles team fell by an 8-4 count.  

A similar story ensued at the third doubles flight, as juniors Katie Marstaller and Steph Knepper dropped an 8-6 decision. The Falcons’ drop shot-lob strategy was effective, but not quite enough to best the consistent Goucher attack.

Singles was also a struggle for Messiah, as the entire team was forced to move up a spot in light of McGinley’s illness. Some were able to rise to the challenge while others found themselves coming up just short.  Clark lost a gut wrenching 4-6, 4-6 decision at the top flight, while Chen took the second set to a tie-breaker before watching the match slip away 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) at number two singles play. Gotchel and Thow also came up short with loses of 6-2, 6-2, and 6-3, 6-2 respectively at the third and fourth singles slots.  

There was some bright spots for Messiah on the day, however, as Marstaller and Knepper pulled out great wins for the team and avenged their doubles loss. Marstaller won a close 6-4 first set before running away with the second set 6-1 to claim a point at the second singles position, while Knepper shower her mental toughness by coming back from a 3-6 first set loss to win the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4 at the fourth solo flight.  

“Being without Christie, it was tough,” said Sheila Bush, Messiah head coach. “Everyone played up a spot in singles, so every match was close.”

Messiah will remain on the road next, as the team travels to Moravian College Saturday. Match time is set for 12 p.m.