Sports

The Bates Student - October 9, 1998

 
 

Shearer clinches women's tennis win over Colby

By CAM DONALDSON
Sports Editor
 

It was a clash of loyalties for Women's Tennis coach John Illig, but in the end his Bobcat pride muffled the Mule, with his current squad beating his ex-team, Colby College, for the first time since 1986 by a score of 5-4 last week. In two years with Bates, Illig had never coached a win over Colby.

"For me, that was the highlight of the season," said Illig. "That was the one match that I wanted to win the most. The entire team wanted to win because it's been such a long time. We really squeaked by, but sometimes it's better to win 5-4 than 9-0."

Jenn Russo '01 had no intention of dragging her matches out, registering two points for Bates by going undefeated in No. 2 singles competition (6-3, 6-1) and at No. 2 doubles (8-5) with strong-armed rookie talent Mary Dorman '02.

It was looking grim for Bates early on, with Colby taking two of three doubles matches. However, the `Cats went on to show that they prefer hunting alone, with Emily Carleton '99 catching her No. 4 singles opponent like a wildebeest at the watering hole, mercifully choking her off in two sets (6-1, 6-1). Dorman had to chase her opposition at No. 3 singles before bringing her down in the third set (7-5, 4-6, 6-4). Laura Shearer '99 lost site of her prey in the second set, but reacquired in the third (6-2, 3-6, 6-3) to clinch the victory for Bates. With all of her teammates looking on and the score knotted at 3-3 in the third set, Shearer had to really dig down to make good on her last shot at beating Colby.

"We needed four wins in singles, and Laura got us that big number four," said Illig. "She fought real hard. At that point, with the other courts empty and everyone watching, it all comes down to how strong your nerves are. I was too nervous to care any longer, but she really wanted to beat Colby."

"I'll never forget it," said Shearer of her third-set clincher. "I never could have done it without the support of my coach and teammates. [Illig] told me that it was 4-4 after the second set and I knew what I had to do. He was so into it. Sometimes he can be really quiet and let you do it on your own, but this time he was following the match very closely."
 


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