STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Geneva women's tennis program opened their season with a match against Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opponent Franciscan on Tuesday afternoon, losing to the Barons 5-2 in a match that was much closer than the final score entailed. Multiple GTs pushed their opponents to three sets, but things just didn't fall Geneva's way in the end, and the women's record dropped to 0-1 to start the year.
The Golden Tornadoes' top doubles tandem of senior
Rachel Hodsden and junior
Chloe DeSanzo started off the afternoon well, defeating Franciscan's No. 1 doubles team 6-3. Unfortunately, the Barons got the better of the women in the next two matches to win the doubles point.
DeSanzo didn't miss a beat moving to singles play, winning her top flight match 6-0, 6-4. Sophomore
Abigail Anderson won Geneva's second point of the day, besting her opponent in No. 3 singles 6-0, 6-2. Both Hodsden and senior
Paris Silverstein took their opponents to third sets in No. 2 and No. 6 singles, respectively, but neither managed to win the decisive final set.
"Despite the heat and the sun, all the ladies fought really hard," said head coach
Nate Heidengren after the match. "We knew Franciscan was going to be a tough match, but we also knew if we gave everything on every point that we'd have a chance to win, and it came down to the last few matches. I'm so proud of how hard these ladies played and we're excited for the rest of the season."
Geneva's next match isn't scheduled for another 10 days, with a road trip to new PAC member Saint Francis on the docket for Friday, September 11. The Red Wolves are in the midst of transitioning from NCAA Division I to Division III, so the match will not count toward Geneva's conference record.
Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).
