Women’s tennis ended its regular season with a win against George Mason at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center Friday.
The Colonials (11-9, 5-2 A-10) took every match against the Patriots (16-9, 2-4 A-10), besting their conference foe in all three doubles and in singles play to round out the day 7–0. The match was the Colonials’ last showing before they head to the Atlantic 10 Championship Wednesday.
“It’s always great to come out with a win, especially a win like that,” head coach Torrie Browning said. “It really gives us a lot of confidence heading into next week.”
GW had a similar performance last year when it toppled George Mason 7–0. The Colonials have historically dominated George Mason, defeating the team 19 consecutive times since the 2001-02 season.
“We were expecting that we were going to win today because we have played this school many times before, but it was still tough,” senior Maria Siopacha said. “Some of the girls were playing really well, so managing to stay in there and get the win was really good.”
Before the match, the Colonials recognized seniors Victoria Kogan, Sara Grubac and Siopacha for their contributions to the team. Browning said the three seniors’ departures from the program was “bittersweet.”
“It still does not feel real,” Kogan said. “We definitely have mixed feelings. I’m happy that I’m graduating soon, but I’m really sad because I’ll miss tennis.”
Kogan and Grubac spent the entirety of their collegiate careers at GW, while Siopacha transferred into the program from UMBC after her freshman season. The three seniors have been the backbone of the Colonials’ roster throughout the season, winning a combined 40 singles.
Since she joined the program three years ago, Siopacha has boasted 55 singles victories.
“Maria has just been a rock, our number one player now for three years,” Browning said. “I’ve just seen her grow so much. She’s done so much for the program, she has brought in so much more visibility to the program and we’re really going to miss her.”
Grubac persevered through a drawn-out singles battle to win the set 6–4, 6–4. The victory brings her career singles wins to 44 and her record this season to a team-leading 19-10.
Browning said Grubac has “grown so much as a person” after battling injuries throughout her sophomore season.
Kogan earned a singles victory Friday, breaking her three-match losing streak. She has garnered 32 singles victories throughout her career.
“Victoria always does the right thing,” Browning said. “She has been a very good leader for our team and those are the types of things that we build our program around.”
The Colonials will appear next in the A-10 Championship that begins Wednesday.
