The Colby women’s tennis team finished its season with a strong 7-2 win over Hamilton College in Utica, N.Y. on Saturday. The Mules recorded a 5-7 overall record and were 3-5 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) this spring.

Colby started strong by winning all three doubles contests. Katie Muto ’11 and Tess Perese ’14 won 8-5 at first doubles; Sarah Wiener ’13 and Kathryn Vergeyle ’12 prevailed at second doubles, 9-7; and Sally Holmes ’13 and Katie Brezinski ’11 were 8-2 victors at third doubles.

Using the momentum from their strong doubles performance, the Mules looked to put away the Continentals quickly in singles. Wiener dominated at fourth singles, 6-0, 6-2. Wins by Hamilton at first and second singles narrowed the score to 4-2 in favor of Colby, but Brezinski won a hard-fought match at third singles to seal the match for the Mules. Vergeyle (6-4, 10-3 super tiebreaker) and Holmes (6-2, 10-4 super tiebreaker) won shortened matches at fifth and sixth singles, respectively.

Head coach Doanh Wang was pleased with his team’s ability to get the job done: “The women did a good job taking care of business in singles. In previous years, the matches against Hamilton were slightly closer….The 7-2 win this weekend is an indication that we are improving.”

Saturday’s match was the final collegiate contest for Colby’s three seniors: Muto, Brezinski and Anna Zieba ’11.

The seniors received high praise from Coach Wang. “Muto did a solid job serving as captain this year,” Wang said, “She has been the only captain that has served the entire tennis season in my time here. Brezinski has done a solid job winning matches for the program. She’s had success in both doubles and singles.”

Wang also lauded Zieba, who saw limited action this season, for her commitment to the program: “Zieba is irreplaceable with her ongoing support for her teammates. Whether she is in the lineup or not, she comes ready to support her teammates. I think for some players, this role would have ‘worn’ off, and maybe [they would have left] the program. But, one has to give Anna credit for her commitment to seeing something through.”

After Saturday’s win, Muto reminisced on her time at Colby, saying, “We were freshman when Coach started at Colby, and over the past four years we’ve had the opportunity to witness and play a role in building this into a solid tennis program….Coach has built a competitive, serious program, and I am excited to see how it continues to grow and improve over the coming years.” Brezinski echoed these sentiments: “We have made a 180 degree turn since [my first year]. The transformation of this program is unlike anything I've ever been a part of before and something I can only hope to be a part of again in a similar manner.”

Muto and Brezinski also agreed that their Colby experience wouldn’t have been complete without tennis: “My experience on CWT has shaped my college experience,” said Muto, “My best college memories have been with my team.”

Brezinski again agreed: “The memories of both tough losses and hard-fought wins will always stay with me and the family I made on this team will be in my life forever….Being a college-athlete is a privilege, and I'm so proud to have been one with CWT because this program, my coach and my teammates have changed who I am as a person forever and for that I can't thank them enough. There's no doubt I'll miss it, but I know that the girls next year and years after will continue to make Colby and CWT alumni proud.”