Men’s tennis
Addie Smith | Sports Editor
The Duquesne men’s tennis team is preparing for the Atlantic-10 championships after a successful regular season ended yesterday with a 5-2 loss against Youngstown State on Youngstown’s outdoor courts.
After a successful indoor court record, the men’s tennis team took to outdoor courts to begin preparing for the A-10 tournament as matches in the tournament are played outdoors. The Dukes lost 6-3 to Carnegie Mellon two weeks ago after unsuccessful doubles matches against the Tartans came back to bite them.
However, when the men’s tennis team was inside, it was unstoppable. The Dukes finished the indoor portion of their season 11-4 and was 4-1 in conference play, their only conference loss coming in a 7-0 sweep by Xavier.
The best doubles pairing for the Dukes is freshman Corey Robinson and junior co-captain Max Rubin, who were the only doubles team to almost defeat their opponents from Carnegie Mellon, narrowly losing 8-5 after maintaining a lead the majority of the match.
The Dukes are led by no.1 seed sophomore Rich Robbie and no. 2 seed junior Pete Carpenter. The team also has strength in their lower seeds with stellar play from no. 6 seed freshman Harry Walshe and from no. 5 seed Rubin. However, this team needs to adjust to outdoor courts to be successful.
The Dukes are now awaiting their seeding for the A-10 championship in Geneva, Ohio. Based on conference and overall play, the Dukes should receive the no. 4 or no. 5 seed for the tournament. The A-10s will start April 25 and go until April 28. All 16 teams from the A-10 will compete in the tournament.
Women’s tennis
Samantha Jagernauth | For The Duquesne Duke
The Duquesne women’s tennis team is ending bittersweet but hopeful for the future. The team had hoped to be seeded at least in the top three in the Atlantic-10 championships but unfortunately due to a number of close matches, the team received the 10-seed for the tournament.
The season started with a mix of wins and losses until it was apparent that the team would not place on a national level. The team finished 7-9 overall and 3-3 in the conference with the A-10 championships coming up where the Dukes will face Fordham in the first round.
Overall in conference play, the Dukes fared well against teams who are seeded ahead of them, but did pick up those wins. The Dukes lost 4-3 to no. 2 seed Xavier and no. 6 seed George Washington University.
Coach Joe Camillo is not dampened by the games lost but hopeful to the games to come.
“What I have learned is that we really need to work on our doubles, as that was where we struggled,” Camillo said.
The Dukes’ doubles pairings haven’t been the best this season. Just last Friday all three doubles pairings were swept in the Red and Blue’s 6-1 loss to the University of California (Pa.). The doubles pairings were also swept by conference opponent Temple and conference opponent Xavier.
However, the Dukes are averaging well in singles and has reason to be proud because of the great stats of their leading players. Senior no. 2 seed Megan O’Sullivan is second on the Dukes with a record of 10-13, while acclaimed star player no. 1 seed junior Judy Li finished first for the Dukes with a record of 11-12.
The Dukes take on the Fordham Rams today in the opening round of the A-10 championship in Charlottesville, Va.
Women’s lacrosse
Saúl Berríos-Thomas | Layout Editor
With two games left in the season the Duquesne women’s lacrosse team has its sights set on the Atlantic-10 championship.
The Red & Blue currently sit in third place in the A-10 and two wins would all but guarantee a trip to Amherst, Mass., the home of the A-10 Championships for this season.
The Dukes high-powered offense is their biggest source of pride. The Dukes’ impressive 13.08 goals per game average is second in the A-10. The Dukes also average the second most shots per game with 28.62. The Duquesne offense is led by sophomore midfielder Amanda Kidder who is second in the conference with 3.0 goals per game. She is often set up for those goals by junior attacker Haley Marafioti who is second in the A-10 with 1.62 assists per game. Junior midfielder Caitlin Prince has also contributed 30 goals on the season putting her in a tie for eighth in the conference.
The Red & Blue have had some struggles on defense, which they will need to figure out before the A-10 Championship. The Dukes are last in the A-10 in ground balls per game recovered with 13.15. They also have caused the sixth fewest turnovers in the conference with 7.46 per game. Stellar goaltending has bailed them out of that as evidenced by their conference leading .473 save percentage. Freshman goalie Jenna Bishop has been a great backup, which is apparent by her A-10 leading .606 goals against average. Junior Kristen Gregory has been remarkable in goal for the Dukes as well. Gregory leads the conference with her .475 save percentage.
They host La Salle Friday at 4 p.m. before heading to Massachusetts on April 21 at noon. The first game of the A-10 tournament will take place on April 26.
Men’s track
Pat Higgins | Asst. Sports Editor
After splitting up over the weekend to run in the Bison Outdoor Classic at Bucknell and the Bennie Benson Memorial at Robert Morris over the weekend, the Duquesne men’s track & field team will head to Philadephia to compete in the Penn Relays from April 25–27.
At Bucknell, sophomore Alex Woodrow ran the second fastest 10,000 meter run in school history, which placed him third of 58 runners in the event. He posted an IC4A qualifying time in the race, finishing in 29:44.27.
While a portion of the team competed in Lewisburg, other members ran in the meet at Robert Morris. Junior Paul Blinn and sophomore Shakeil Carter finished second and third, respectively in the 100-meter dash also qualifying for the IC4A’s.
Following the annual relays in Philadelphia, the team will continue to prepare for the Atlantic-10 Outdoor championships in Charlotte on May 4 and 5.