BY ANDREW HALE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
After finishing the 2021-22 season with a record of 5-15, the St. Bonaventure women’s tennis team looked to get back on track, participating in the Navy-Invitational tournament from Sept. 9 – 11.
The Bonnies joined Binghamton, George Mason, Johns Hopkins, Lehigh, Mary Washington, Monmouth and Navy in competition at the tournament.
At the Navy Invitational, the Bonnies were tested early in doubles as junior Anastasia Gubanova and freshman Isabella Venter were defeated, 6-4, by Mary Washington’s Rebecca Stepleman and Abigail Moghtader.
The early struggles didn’t last long as Gubanova and Venter went on to defeat doubles teams from Johns Hopkins and George Mason, advancing to the Flight “A” Consolation Final. There, they defeated Emily Javedan and Essense Wang of Johns Hopkins, 6-3.
“I think the team was a little nervous in the beginning,” Bonaventure head coach Michael Bates said. “But they settled in and started playing well, realizing they can compete at this level.”
The Bonnies continued their doubles success from freshman Kashish Bote and sophomore Alexandra Jansson. They advanced to the Flight “B” Consolation Final, but eventually fell, 6-3, to Jenin Al-Asadi and Lauren Splett of George Mason.
Senior Amelia Haley and freshman Kelly Barnes, the Bonnies’ last doubles squad, also made a run to the Flight “C” Consolation Final, but were defeated in a close match, 7-6, by Navy’s Corinne Farid and Stella Ribaudo.
As for the singles side of the Navy Invitational, the Bonnies had six players compete, with finals runs from freshmen Bote and Barnes. After winning her first two matches against Mary Washington and Johns Hopkins, Bote advanced to the Flight “D” Final where she came up short losing to Imani Ghosh of Johns Hopkins by the scores of, 6-4, and, 6-3.
Barnes, however, was able to overcome early adversity in her first match. After losing her opening match against Johns Hopkins, Barnes defeated Binghamton’s Bridget Martin, 6-2, and, 6-2, in the Consolation Semifinals. Barnes went on to win the Flight “E” Consolation Final by the scores of – 6-2, 4-6 and 10-7 – against Avleen Waraich of George Mason.
With two singles final runs and three doubles final appearances, all of which included freshmen, Bates said the Bonnies will have to rely on the entire team if they want to have success throughout the remainder of the season. This season the Bonnies will have only seven players on the roster, compared to the usual eight.
“We have to count on everyone,” Bates said. “As long as everyone is working hard, we’ll be successful.”
Every year since the 2012-13 season the Bonnies have competed at the Navy-Invitational tournament, allowing them to get ready for the challenges of a daunting regular season.
“We try to play as many good teams and play in as many tournaments as we can,” Bates said. “We have three more tournaments to go, and I think that’ll be a good indication on where we are at.”
Next, the Bonnies head to Buffalo on Sept. 17 as they look to replicate their success at the University of Buffalo Invitational.
halea22@bonaventure.edu
