The Hamilton College women’s team are on fire right now. They won their third straight match in a row, this time topping Trinity College 7-2 in a crucial NESCAC contest at Hamilton’s Gray Tennis Courts last Saturday. Hamilton College, nicknamed The Continentals, raised their overall record to 14-5 overall but got their first victory of the season in the NESCAC after four straight defeats.
The Continentals now stand 17th in the Northeast Region in the latest edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) regional rankings and results. And while Trinity College gave a spirited performance, they simply couldn’t compete with Hamilton’s sheer power and accuracy on the courts as the hosts turned in a thrilling effort to emerge victorious once again.
Hamilton won four of the six singles matches, with three of those players also helping to secure victories in the doubles format too. In fact, it would be Isabella and Winnine Tang who did the majority of the damage throughout Saturday’s encounter as the two starlets combined to win their doubles fixture and respective singles matches as well – and they will remain central to Hamilton’s success in the future.
As a duo, they’re 9-4 this year but it is Tang who is making headway in the rankings. She has been superb this year, winning 19 of her 25 matches and she won 6-0 6-0 in her singles fixtures this weekend. On her day, she’s almost unbeatable and she will be looking to continue to climb the rankings ahead of the summer.
If nothing else, she’s turning into the Serena Williams of the college world. Williams, who has dominated the female game for so long, is favourite in Coral’s Wimbledon betting markets to win yet another Grand Slam this summer and Tang could follow in her footsteps at some point in her career. Right now, her collegiate record is 58-29 – meaning she wins two of every three matches, which is an excellent statistic.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Samantha Weeks also swept her opponent without dropping a game. She has held the fifth spot on the team for quite some time now and after winning 18 of her 22 matches this year, she could push for a higher ranking on The Continentals’ roster – especially if partner Keyte continues to struggle at times. Weeks had to bail her out on more than one occasion during their doubles victory at the weekend.
With the regular season ending on Saturday, the Continentals will be looking to make a major impact on the NESCAC stage. It won’t be easy but they have plenty of upcoming talent and for people betting on Wimbledon 2016 and other editions, it might be worth a watch as Hamilton could produce the next big female tennis player.
They’re certainly working well as a team and have the individual strength to succeed at some point in the future...