Steven Peek
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The Butler women’s tennis team emerged from Dayton, Ohio, unscathed Friday following their defeat of the Dayton Flyers, 7-0.
Only junior Gabriella Bobrowski went beyond straight sets to finalize her match win, which was against Dayton’s No. 1 singles player Julie Kirkland.
“Gabby had a tough match at No. 1,” Butler head coach Jason Suscha said. “That was an even match, but she played a nice tiebreaker and came to the net well to win.”
Senior Molly Casperson won her singles match against No. 3 opponent Laina Grote—6-2, 6-2—by taking advantage of her offensive opportunities.
Casperson also grabbed an edge in the match by controlling both ends of the serve.
“I was consistently hitting deep returns,” she said. “I got a lot of good looks at second serves. That helped me to start the point off from an offensive standpoint.”
Casperson teamed up with senior Becky Jenkins to win the No. 1 doubles match, 8-4.
“Our doubles match was very different from all other doubles matches we’ve played this year,” Casperson said. “Dayton played a very different style, playing two back, using the lob often and being able to get to a lot of balls.”
The Butler duo was able to overcome this style with focus, consistency and a healthy reliance on Jenkins’ serve.
“[Jenkins] has very strong first serves that give us free points or allow us to finish points quickly,” Casperson said.
Suscha said that Dayton’s fast courts suited Jenkins’ style.
“The faster the courts, the more important the serve becomes,” Suscha said. “[Jenkins] serves big, and the ball gets to the target quickly.”
Jenkins continued her success by defeating Flyers’ No. 4 player Sarah Van Wallegham, 6-2, 6-2.
Bobrowski and freshman Brittany Farmer lost the No. 2 doubles match by a single serving break, but junior Natali Jaimes and sophomore Cam Thompson combined forces to win the third doubles match and clinch the overall doubles point.
Jaimes and Thompson each transferred momentum from their doubles match to their respective singles matches. Jaimes won the No. 2 singles match 6-4, 6-4. Thompson won her first set 6-4, before blanking her opponent in the second set.
“We are learning to understand how to use our strengths to our advantages during the match,” Casperson said.
“No matter where we play and who may be on court, everyone is out to play for the team,” Casperson said. “This was a huge contribution to winning all seven points in our victory.”
Suscha said that the team measures itself by how it feels on the court, not the scoreboard.
“We judge [ourselves] by how close to our potential we’re playing at any given moment,” he said. “We’re moving forward; we’re not moving backward.”
The Bulldogs have one week to prepare for their trip to Hammond, La., where they will face the Lions of Southeastern Louisiana March 11.
“I think we are all looking forward to Spring Break and the opportunity to play some tennis outdoors in Louisiana,” Casperson said.
Suscha said the outdoor matches will result in a slower and different style of play than the matches against Dayton.
“You can’t just bounce serves in,” he said. “For us outdoors, the idea is to not beat yourself.
“Consistency is what we’re going to work on the most because they’ve got a lot of international players with a lot of talent.”
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