WAUWATOSA, Wis. – It was the perfect storm for the Mount Mary College tennis team.
In fact, it was a sudden September storm that caused the Blue Angles to be in this position in the first place.
After having to reschedule a match against crosstown rival Milwaukee School of Engineering due to a torrential downpour two weeks prior, Mount Mary offered to host the Raiders at Hart Park Thursday night under the lights. And the Blue Angels impressed on center stage, securing a pair of doubles victories en route to their first team victory of the season, 5-4.
"I thought the atmosphere was electric among our team tonight," head coach Tom Troast said. "This moment for the team was coming, and I think the ladies knew it too," Troast said. "We had a great week of practice and frankly I've never seen this group this excited to play. With three matches to go this team is beginning to come together and play with some confidence. There's nothing like match play to get a feel for tennis. We're still very young and inexperienced, but our program took a big step tonight."
Opening the night with the doubles competition, the tandem of freshman Krista Olson (Appleton, Wis.) and junior Katie Wolk (Oshkosh, Wis.) earned the first Blue Angel win of the year with a 8-0 sweep. But an historic battle at No. 2 doubles proved the difference maker in the match, as sophomore Brooke Slamka (Racine, Wis.) and junior Carol Guillen (River Hills, Wis.) overcame a 2-7 deficit to pull off a miraculous 9-7 match victory. The duo held ground on all six match points faced to give Mount Mary a 2-1 lead entering the singles round.
"That No. 2 doubles match may be the most exciting in school history," Troast said. "Carol and Brooke were simply amazing during the comeback. I've never seen anything like it."
Momentum on its side, Mount Mary took control early in the singles competition as senior Kat Reynoso (Brookfield, Wis.) cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6, while Wolk added a second singles win at No. 3 with a resounding 6-0, 6-2 victory. Bringing home the final match-winning win was Guillen, who made quick work of her MSOE foe 6-1, 6-1.
"Kat, Katie and Carol, my only returning players, tonight wanted this one so badly," Troast said. "They talked about it all week and they simply delivered with the best tennis I've ever seen them play.
"I'm so pleased with Kat's sudden emergence as a dependable singles player. She's given us some depth as a team and put us in position to seal the deal."
Returners aside, coach Troast also praised the play of Slamka, who aside from sharing in that huge doubles win, was thrown into uncharted territory not only as a singles player, but against MSOE's top player.
"Brooke, in my mind, was the player of the match," Troast said. "She was critical in that doubles comeback and was forced to play No. 1 singles due to a late player change. She rarely plays singles and was put into a pressure situation against a terrific, seasoned player. I was absolutely thrilled how she held her own throughout the night. We are going to hear a lot more from Brooke in the years ahead."
The Blue Angels will look to ride the emotions of their first season victory Saturday as they travel to Chicago for a split double-header at Concordia University-Chicago and Roosevelt University. Match times are 10 am and 1 pm respectively, both in the greater Chicago area.
