2009-10 ARMY WOMEN’S TENNIS
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senior KRISTIN BEEHLER
senior PAIGE FORD
FIVE-TIME DEFENDING PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
MEET THE 2009-10 BLACK KNIGHTS NAME Jessica Ahn Kristin Beehler Maria Casaletto Erin Colton Caitlin Finnegan Paige Ford Annie Hang Audrey Hansen Anne Houghton Morgan Kiser Jurelle Mendoza Holly Pappafotis Kari Pope Larraine Saavedra Michael Tollerton Robie Verano Patricia Vollmer Charlee Warford
YEAR Jr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr.
HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL Forest Hill, Md./C. Millton Wright Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate Evansville, Ind./Reitz Memorial Davie Fla./Broward Virtual School Weston, Fla./Sagemont Upper School Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin Sugar Land, Texas/Stephen F. Austin Richardon, Texas/Plano Senior Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley Salt Lake City, Utah/East High Garden City Park, N.Y./Kellenburg Memorial Longwood, Fla./Trinity Preparatory School Winchester, Va./Isle of Wright Academy/James Wood Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton Sarasota, Fla./Riverview Edinburg, Texas/Edinburg New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park Memorial El Cajon, Calif./Granite Hills
Head Coach: Paul Peck (Illinois ’84); 15th season Assistant Coach: Bobbe Vasos Bennett (Colorado State ’02) Athletic Intern: 2nd Lt. Sarah Giles-Madden (West Point ’09) Head Officer Representative: Col. Steve Fleming
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WHAT’S AHEAD IN 2009-10 Army will be looking to maintain its stellar performances over the last five-years plus in 2009-10. Under the direction of 10-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Paul Peck, the Black Knights have compiled a 103-46 (.691) overall record and an unblemished 24-0 Patriot League record during five championship seasons that date back to 2005. In 2009, Army utilized a well-balanced lineup to reach the NCAA Regional bracket for the ninth time in the program’s storied history. One of the most successful teams at West Point, the Black Knights drew Miami, the sixth overall seed, and headed for Coral Gables, Fla. The 4-0 result ended the Black Knights season and the careers of five seniors. However, Peck says that he is confident in his returners and will again use the fall to evaluate the newcomers and where they can fit into his spring line-ups. Among the 13 players returning is standout Annie Houghton, who begins her junior season as Army’s No. 1 player. She became the first player in Patriot League history to repeat as Player of the Year last spring, which also earned her a spot on the first team all-league list. With 52 career singles wins over her first two seasons at West Point, Houghton needs just six more wins to crack the all-time top-10 list. Three second team all-league players also make their return to the roster this year, led by senior co-captain Kristin Beehler. A powerful player out of Wichita, Kan., Beehler settled into the No. 4 spot in last spring’s lineup and produced 14 wins, which brings her career total to 54 victories. Beehler and Houghton partnered to create a formidable No. 2 doubles combination last spring and enjoyed a team-best 20-5 record. With 69 career doubles wins under her belt, Beehler enters her final season at West Point tied for fifth in Academy history for career doubles wins. Juniors Michael Tollerton and Robie Verano garnered their first All-Patriot League selection as sophomores, playing in the Nos. 5 and 6 flights, respectively. Along with Beehler, Verano was named the John “Pat” Rooney Co-Most Valuable Player of the 2009 Patriot League Tournament. Verano posted 19 wins a year ago, while Tollerton managed 16. The ladder spent the majority of last year playing doubles alongside recent graduate Niki Flach, and the duo enjoyed a 16-7 spring record. Rounding out the two-person senior class, co-captain Paige Ford will be looking to make her contributions known both on and off the court. The Charlotte, N.C., native has won 35 singles and 38 doubles matches throughout her career, while making the NCAA Regional trips in each of the last two years. Along with Houghton, Verano and Tollerton, the Class of 2011 has made a major impact on the Black Knights’ success since first stepping foot inside the gates of West Point. Annie Hang, Maria Casaletto, Audrey Hansen, Caitlin Finnegan, Jurelle Mendoza and Charlee Warford produced at least 10 singles wins apiece in 2008-09. Classmate Patricia Vollmer also enjoyed solid success, despite suffering in and out of injury. Also returning from an injury-plagued sophomore season will be Jessica Ahn. Although the roster does not feature any sophomores, Peck is assured that this year’s team will be as balanced as in year’s past. He added five freshmen to the fold in a class that came in ranked 21st among mid-major programs according to tennisrecruiting.net. Erin Colton, Morgen Kiser, Holly Pappafotis, Kari Pope and Larraine Saavedra will all be looked upon for contributions throughout the year.
LOOKING BACK ON A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON SON • After a tough 1-5 start to the year, the Army women’s tennis team bounced back to win 22 of its final 23 matchess and finished the year with a 24-9 mark - the program’s third 20-plus-win season since 2005. • The Black Knights captured a fifth-straight Patriot League title in 2009. The championships were held at Bucknell’s ell’s Varsity Tennis Courts in Lewisburg, Pa. Army captured the No. 1 seed for the sixth year in a row to earn a first-round bye. The team cruised to a 4-0 victory over No. 5 Colgate in the semifinals before toppling the host Bison, 4-1, in the finals on Sunday, April 26. Junior Kristin Beehler and sophomore Robie Verano were named co-John “Pat” Rooney Award winners as the tournament’s Most Valuable Players. Army has claimed 10 championships in the 18 years of the Patriot League’s eague’s existence. The conference began receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in 1999, and, since then, Army my has captured the title on all but two occasions. • Army enjoyed the longest win streak in school history last season, rattling off 18-straight victories from Feb. b. 22 through April 4. The Black Knights’ lone loss since a 4-3 defeat against Stony Brook on Feb. 21 was a 4-3 setback ck to Long Island at home on April 11. • Again boasting one of the most challenging non-league schedules, Army took on several teams out of the Big EAST, AST, Atlantic 10 and two teams out of the current national rankings - Boston University (#59), Brown (#62). Army went 5-1 against the Big EAST, defeating St. John’s, Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The Black Knights hts also notched notable wins against Fordham, Massachusetts and Duquesne out of the Atlantic 10. • Army went 5-0 against Patriot League competition again this year, marking the Black Knights’ seventh undefeated d conference season in a row. Army has not lost a Patriot League regular-season match since 2002, winning 37 dual al matches in a row against its league foes. • Army enjoyed home court advantage in 22 of its dual matches last spring. Snow and cool Northeast temperaturess kept the Black Knights inside the state-of-the-art Lichtenberg Tennis Center throughout much of the year. The team did utilize Malek Courts (outdoor) for its final regular-season match against Lehigh. The entire Patriot League Tournament also took place outdoors in steamy temperatures eclipsing the mid-80s at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa. • With 18 dual-match wins in 2009, sophomore Annie Houghton set a new Army record. Meanwhile, recent graduates Niki Flach and Sarah Giles-Madden managed to slide into the top-10 of Army’s career list for doubles before departing West Point in May. • Head coach Paul Peck recorded his 250th career victory by way of a 7-0 win over Holy Cross on April 4. The winningest coach in program history, Peck has coached in 398 career dual matches during his 14-plus years at West Point. Peck repeated as Patriot League Coach of the Year for the 10th time in 2009. • Sophomore Annie Houghton was named Patriot League Player of the Year for a second year in a row, making her the first player in Patriot League history to repeat. She was also the conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2008. 2009 PATRIOT LEAGUE HONORS
First Team Annie Houghton - So. Niki Flach - Sr. Second Team Kristin Beehler - Jr. Michael Tollerton - So. Robie Verano - So. Player of the Year: Annie Houghton, Army Coach of the Year: Paul Peck, Army
WEST POINT ALL-TIME COACHING RECORDS Coach Chris Batjer Steve Medoff Pete Castellano Maggie Morris Jim Worthington Jim Hawkins Todd Ryska PAUL PECK Totals
Years 1979 1979-81 1981-86 1986-87 1987-90 1990-93 1994-95 S1995-PRES.
Yrs. 1 2 5 1 3 3.5 1 14.5 30
W 7 30 64 9 40 51 16 254 471
L 4 3 34 14 25 29 10 144 264
Pct. .636 .906 .653 .391 .615 .632 .615 .638 .641
2009-10 ARMY WOMEN’S TENNIS SCHEDULE 2009 FALL at Quinnipiac Invitational and at Stony Brook Invitational Sept. 18-19 .............................................................................. ....... Sept. 25-27 ...........................................................................................................................EASTERN ..... CHAMPIONSHIPS 9-11 ................................................................................................................at National Tennis Center Invitational Oct. 9-11........ ... Oct. 10-11 ...............................................................................................................................at Lehigh Fall Invitational Oct. 23-25 ............................................................... . at ITA Regionals (hosted by Harvard) and at Brown Invitational SPRING Jan. 29-31 29-3 ................................................................................................................... at Cornell Winter Invitational Jan. 31. 31 ................................................................................................................................................ at Dartmouth Feb. 6 .......................................................................................................................... BINGHAMTON | HOFSTRA Feb. 7 ................................................................................................................ SETON HALL | SACRED HEART Feb. 1 11 ............................................................................................................................................... at Syracuse Feb. 1 13 ........................................................................................................................................ STONY BROOK Feb. 14 ................................................................................................................. CONNECTICUT | FORDHAM Feb. 20 ................................................................................................... BUFFALO | FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON Feb. Feb 21 ...............................................................................................................at Massachusetts | BRYANT Feb. Feb 26 ............................................................................................................................................... TEMPLE Feb. Fe 27 ................................................................................................................ST. JOHN’S | MANHATTAN March 5 ......................................................................................................................................QUINNIPIAC Ma March 6 ................................................................................................................................. NJIT | MARIST M March 7 ..............................................................................................................RUTGERS | PROVIDENCE M March 13 .........................................................................................................RHODE ISLAND | NIAGARA M March 14 ....................................................................................................................................... LEHIGH* M March 24........................................................................................................................................at Brown M March 27 ................................................................................................... LAFAYETTE* | HOLY CROSS* March 28 ................................................................................................................................... COLGATE* April 3 .....................................................................................................................DUQUESNE | ALBANY April 10 ...................................................................................................... BUCKNELL* | LONG ISLAND April 16-18 ............................................................................................. Patriot League Championships^ Start times not yet available BOLD CAPS indicates home match (Lichtenberg Tennis Center/Malek Courts) * - Patriot League match ^ - 2010 Patriot League Championships (hosted by Colgate, Hamilton, N.Y.)
WEST POINT QUICK FACTS Location ............................................................................... West Point, N.Y. Founded .......................................March 16, 1802, by an Act of Congress Enrollment............................................................................................ 4,400 Superintendent ........................................... Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck Director of Athletics ............................................................. Kevin Anderson Nickname ................................................................................ Black Knights Colors .......................................................................... Black, Gold and Gray Conference ............................................................................ Patriot League
WOMEN’S TENNIS FACTS 2008-09 Dual Match Record................................................................ 24-9 2008-09 Patriot League Record/Finish ......................................... 5-0/1st All-Time Record .........................................................471-263 (30 seasons) All-Time NCAA Tournament Record......................................................... 0-8 Last NCAA Appearance ........................................ 2009 NCAA First Round Indoor Tennis Center ......................................... Lichtenberg Tennis Center Outdoor Courts ........................................................................Malek Courts Tennis Office Phone ..............................................................845-938-6015 WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ARMY WOMEN’S TENNIS? VISIT WWW.GOARMYSPORTS.COM FOR MORE.