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Falcons Open '09 Season With 7-2 Decision Over Eastern
Junior Kristen Chen made an impressive debut for Messiah Tuesday.

By Jansen Hein, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Tuesday afternoon proved to be a great season opener for the Messiah women’s tennis team, as they cruised to a 7-2 victory over Eastern University on Criste Courts at the Messiah Tennis Complex.  

Messiah (1-0) brings back a solid women’s program from the previous year after losing no seniors to the graduating class of 2009. On Tuesday afternoon, overcast skies and mild temperatures set the stage for some fantastic displays of skill on the court. The number three doubles team of juniors Katie Marstaller and Steph Knepper were the first to begin match play, and lived up to their reputation. The two teammates — after making it to the third doubles finals of last years MAC Individuals Championship Tournament — picked up where they left off with an astounding 8-0 victory over the Eagles’ Jacquelyn Sauder and Amanda Prescott.  

“It was great to be back on the court again,” Marstaller said after the match.

The speed of their match allowed the third doubles team to quickly get off the courts and encourage their teammates who were still battling, and what a battle it was for the first and second doubles points. The Falcons’ number one team of senior Christie McGinley and junior Stacey Clark met a tough combo in Eastern’s Bekah Roland and Hannah Tobin. The combination of size and baseline power proved too much for the Messiah partners as they eventually fell 8-2.  

Second doubles was a roller coaster of lead changes. Messiah senior Annie Gotchel and junior Kristen Chen exchanged the lead with Eastern’s Allison Verdic and Jen Wright five times before the match was eventually decided in a 8-4 Falcons decision.  

Serving as the first time Gotchel and Chen’s paired together as partners in a collegiate match, the duo complimented each other well. Between Gotchel’s powerful serve and Chen’s driving backhand, the two were able to open up the court and keep their opponents guessing. After finding themselves down 3-4, the pair powered through five straight games to win a decisive 8-4 victory.  

The overall 2-1 victory in doubles carried confidence into singles for Messiah as they proceeded to take five of the six matches. McGinley struggled to find a successful strategy against Roland in top singles play, dropping the first set by a 6-0 score. McGinley responded, however, battling to an early lead in the second set, going up 3-2.  

In the end, the sophomore from Eastern (1-2) proved to be too much for the Messiah senior, however, retiring her in straight sets 6-0, 6-4.  

The tough loss at first doubles did not seem to hinder Clark at second singles, however, as Clark came out firing after a rough round of doubles. The Eagleville, Pa. native delivered a shutout, providing the largest singles margin of victory on the day in a 6-0, 6-0 haymaker. Consistency and constant ball movement seemed to be the key to her success.

“I am very impressed with Stacey’s mental toughness,” said Sheila Bush, Messiah head coach. “Her turnaround from doubles to singles was amazing. This is a great opening win for her confidence.”  

Gotchel and junior Steph Knepper both retired their opponents in similar fashion at fourth and fifth singles, respectively, each laying down a 6-1, 6-1 handling of their respective opponents. Gotchel finished the day with double-digit aces (singles and doubles combined), while Knepper preferred sound ground strokes and patience in long rallies to obtain her victory.  

“The serve was working just like in practice,” Gotchel said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better season opening service performance. Everything was working.”  

In her first match as a Messiah Falcon, Chen proved her spot on the team. A tough combination of backhand winners and forehands in the corners proved too much for Eastern’s Amanda Prescott, as Chen went on to win a decisive 6-2, 6-2 victory.  

“I was truly pleased with my forehand today,” Chen noted. “I have been working on it in practice lately and it came together well today.”  

With five singles matches in the books, the number three flight of Marstaller and Eastern’s Hannah Tobin remained. Marstaller had taken a tough first set loss of 3-6 and turned it around into a second set blowout in here favor, 6-1. As the team scoring was already decided, the two played a super tiebreaker to ten in lieu of a third set. Marstaller raced out to a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker, only to see it tied up at 8-8 following a few mental errors and some tough opponent serves. However, Marstaller’s patience proved too much for her opponent as she ended up taking the breaker 12-10.  

Messiah’s 7-2 victory over Eastern gives them confidence as they prepare for another home game on Wednesday, as the team will host DeSales University in less than 24 hours. Match time is set for 3:30 p.m.

“There is always more to work on early in the season,” Bush said, “but the girls look good already and we should be well prepared for league play which starts up at the end of the month.”