Story by Zach Avery, Editor-in-Chief

After finishing 3-2 while on their recent spring break trip in Florida, the AQ Women’s Tennis team have returned to face off against Cornerstone University in their second Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) match of the season. Despite some excellent showings by WHAC ‘Player of the Week’ Joska Volder and her doubles partner, Sofia Gomez, the group failed to take the doubles round point and lost 3-4.

Despite this defeat, the Gomez and Volder pair have proven to be a dominating force this season, with a 13-2 overall record and 2-0 score in WHAC. They have performed just as well in recent matches against schools like Manhattanville, Lourdes and Saint Mary’s College, two of them being total shutouts.

“Me and Sofia have been a great couple in doubles for quite some time,” Volder said. “I really enjoy playing along her side as I think that we complement each other very well.”

Joska Volder, an AQ junior majoring in art, leads her team with an outstanding season record, scoring 11-2 overall and 2-0 WHAC, including her recent victory over Cornerstone’s Sarah Daza. Volder continues on her six match winning streak.

“For the rest of the season, I look forward to more exciting matches and great wins for the team,” Volder said. “We have all been improving a lot since the beginning of this semester and I am happy that I get to experience that with such a tight group of friends.”

As the WHAC season continues, Aquinas will need to rely on a strong output not only from their singles matches, but their doubles matches as well. Afterall, whichever competitor can take more doubles matches than their opponent scores the advantageous “doubles point.” This essentially grants one school a free singles match win and clear upper hand overall. No pair knows the importance of this point more than doubles pair Volder and Gomez.

“Even when the matches are tough, I know I will be able to count on the solid foundation we have created over the years and the strong communication between us that not only has brought us a lot of wins, but also a lot of fun on court,” Volder said.

The Aquinas WHAC season for women’s tennis will continue on April 2 against Indiana Tech and April 8 against Concordia. Come support our athletes as they continue to improve their record!