Fresh off of successful spring break trips, the Dickinson Men’s and Women’s Tennis team both opened up Centennial Conference play with mixed results. Following an 8-1 nonconference victory over Elizabethtown on Thursday, March 22, the men’s team took down Ursinus on Saturday, March 24 by a score of 6-3 before getting blanked 9-0 on Sunday, March 25 by #4-ranked Johns Hopkins.

Against Ursinus, the Red Devils jumped out in front early by sweeping the doubles matches. Will Golinkin ’13 and Franco Mena ’15 took the top match by a score of 8-6, while Erik Dinardo ’15 and Ari Blask ’14 took the second match up by the same margin. Jon Brittin ’15 and David London ’12 gave the Devils the doubles sweep with their 8-1 victory. Brittin, Blask, and London also earned wins in their respective singles matches, the fifth, fourth, and sixth flights to seal the overall victory for the Devils.

Unfortunately, the momentum from this victory was unable to carry over to Sunday, as Dickinson was overpowered at home by the Blue Jays. Ranked as one of the top teams in the country, Johns Hopkins never let the Devils come close to a victory. Golinkin and Mena were the only players to make things interesting in their respective matches, dropping the top doubles match, 8-3 before they both fell by scores of 6-3, 6-1 in the first and third flight singles matches.

The women’s team saw very similar results to the men, posting a 6-3 win over Ursinus on Saturday, March 24 after falling 8-1 to Johns Hopkins on Wednesday, March 21. Alysia Rodgers ’13 earned the lone point for the Devils in the loss to the Blue Jays, winning the top flight singles match by a score of 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5). Rodgers also earned a pair of wins in the match against the Bears, taking the top singles flight by a score of 6-0, 6-1, while earning a doubles victory with Shannon Lavery ’14, 8-0. Lavery, Ilana Unger ’15, and Madeline Altholtz ’14 also earned singles victories in the second, fifth, and sixth flights, respectively. Dominique Hedderich ’15 and Sarah Cantor ’15 teamed up for an 8-2 win in the third doubles match to close the scoring out for the Red Devils.

The men now sport a record of 4-4, with a 1-1 mark in Centennial Conference play. The women improve to 7-2 with the win over Ursinus, which also improves their Centennial Conference record to 1-2. The teams play again on Saturday, March 31 as the men travel to Haverford, while the women host Bryn Mawr at 1 p.m.