Geneva nips Bulldogs on special day at Batavia

For years, visiting tennis teams have blamed "The Batavia Bounce" for all sorts of mysterious hops and misplayed shots on the Bulldogs' home courts.

The option of using that as an excuse was eliminated Tuesday afternoon as Batavia ushered in a new era for its tennis program.

And what better way to break in a new facility than to have your key rivals stop by for a match.

Geneva christened Batavia's new courts, and ruined their debut by beating the Bulldogs, 4-3, in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Sun Conference.

"I know they went to a lot of trouble to make sure these courts were ready for this match," Geneva coach Maureen Weiler said. "It was great for us to be able to come here for the inaugural match."

It was a new experience for the Bulldogs as well, since they didn't get an opportunity to practice on the courts.

"We're so excited," Batavia junior Mallory Ramp said. "We finally have a nice place to play."

The Vikings have relied on their top players to deliver big wins all season long, and Tuesday's match proved no different.

Kayla Fujimoto gave the Vikings their first win of the afternoon, sweeping Kim Sawyer, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.

"I was really relaxed today, and just tried to have fun," Fujimoto said.

Geneva seniors Mary Pelling and Krista Panko came in revved up and got off to a fast start in their No. 1 doubles match against Jessica Riemenschneider and Hannah Potter.

"They're our rivals, and definitely the toughest competition in our conference," Pelling said.

After winning the first set in decisive fashion, 6-2, the Viking duo faced a major challenge from Riemenschneider and Potter in set 2, before coming away with a 6-4 win.

"They picked it up in the second set, and after we lost a couple of games, we started to get down," Panko said.

As well as Geneva (16-2, 6-0) performed in the top two slots, the Bulldogs dominated the middle matches.

Alexa Schofield improved to 16-1 on the season by handing Geneva freshman Carly Ausman her first loss of the season, 6-1, 6-3.

"That was a big win for Alexa," Batavia coach Brad Nelson said. "She's shown that she can be a very versatile player."

Ramp earned the Bulldogs another singles win by sweeping Liz Horenzy, 6-1, 6-2 in their No. 3 match.

"I knew that if I could keep the ball in play, and let her make mistakes, I would probably win," Ramp said. "Usually I don't play like that."

Batavia (13-4, 5-1) also claimed the day's tightest match. Abby Link and Elena Mudrak appeared to get better as their match wore on, rallying from a second set loss to beat Alexa Rogers and Jamie Potts at No. 2 doubles, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Geneva won the other doubles matches as Maddie Suchor and Sarah Zacchea topped Michelle Sapyta and Kaitlin Mills, 6-3, 6-0 in third doubles, while at No. 4, Claire Chlasta and Cassie Johnson beat Mallory Potter and Brooke Svitak, also in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

The team win gives Geneva an edge in the conference, albeit a small one.

"When we see them again at the conference tournament they'll have some players who lost who will want to try and beat us, and we'll have some girls who will want to turn it around too," Weiler said. "That's what makes this fun."

But despite the loss, the good feelings surrounding Batavia tennis, and its new home were unmistakable.

"It's exciting to have a great facility like this one," Nelson said. "This bodes well for the program."