Tennis teams sweep St. Francis

The Loyola men's and women's tennis teams began their season on Jan. 27 against St. Francis University (of New York).  The men's team won 6-1, and the women won convincingly as well, 7-0.

For the women: Rachel Janasek, senior, won her singles match as Loyola's number one singles player against St. Francis.  Heading into the season, Janasek had 52 total wins as a singles player, which is seven shy of the school record (59) held by Nancy Turnblacer.  After twenty wins as a sophomore, and fifteen as a junior, she looks to be on pace to break the women's school record for wins by a singles player.

Sophomores Sabrina Fedele and Tiffany Ash are the respective number two and three singles players for the Hounds this season.  Ash had 18 singles wins last season as a freshman.

As for doubles, Janasek was paired with freshman Olivia Ott, and they won last week against St. Francis. Seniors Jackie Lionetta and Rachel Bergeron were also victorious in their doubles match.

For the men: senior Keyan Sanai leads the Hounds as the top singles player for the fourth straight season. He has had a successful career thus far, helping the Hounds reach the semifinals of the MAAC Championships as a sophomore.

Along with Sanai for four straight seasons, senior Pierce Norton is the number two singles player and senior Kevin Zingler returns again as the number three singles player.  These three Hounds have been in the 1-2-3 spots for Loyola respectively since their freshmen year. The experience could pay off for them in big ways this season.

For the doubles, Norton and Zingler are the number one doubles team, and junior Bobby Gorczakowski and graduate student Patrick Glaessner serve as the number two doubles team. 

After solid victories by both the men and women's teams against St. Francis, the season looks bright for the Hounds.  Coach Rick McClure, who recorded his 600th victory last season—a brilliant feat in any sport—leads both the men and women's teams for yet another season.