Mills College WeeklyAfter dealing with more than three weeks of bad weather and
cancelled matches, the Mills tennis team finally had a chance to
play. As the rain ended, the team headed west to Hawaii for spring
break, and a series of matches against some NCAA Division II
teams.
The Cyclones wound up with more losses than wins in Hawaii, but
individual performances and the knowledge that they were facing
their strongest competition of the season kept the team
motivated.
Emma Panui (see “Cyclone of the Week”) and Ayaka Oshima
contributed wins during singles and doubles matches versus
Chaminade, a small college in Honolulu. Molly Maguire and Kassi
Kappelos provided singles wins, taking the team to an overall 6-3
win.
Coach Marc Weinstein was impressed by his team’s play against
their higher-ranked opponents. “We were facing teams with six full
scholarships,” he said, adding that two of the spring break losses
served up by Bryant College in Rhode Island, and the University of
Hawaii at Hilo, both nationally ranked.
Mills bounced back after Hawaii and headed across the bay to
face San Rafael’s Dominican College. The Cyclones handily defeated
the Penguins 7-2, but lost freshwoman Kassi Kappelos to an ankle
injury.
Also absent because of injury was senior Jen Allen. As a result,
Ayaka Oshima, a transfer student from Japan, was bumped from the #6
slot to the #4 slot in singles play, and since, has been on a
4-match winning streak.
Returning to Mills did not result in a better advantage for the
Cyclones. Last week Mills suffered 7-2 losses from Spokane, Wash.’s
Whitworth College and Pasadena’s Cal-Tech. Kassi Kappelos returned
from her injury to face Cal-Tech, but lost her match.
Next week, the Cyclones host matches on April 3 and 13. As the
weather improves, there’s no better way to wile away an afternoon
than by watching tennis. The courts are located behind Haas
Pavilion, right beside the pool, and fans are always welcome.
