The Hawks women’s tennis team fought past multiple injuries as they took on the Fresno City College Rams on March 20 at Cosumnes River College.

Hawks’ head coach Suzanne Stebbins said CRC played better against Fresno prior to injuries.

“I think we played them tougher when we went down there [Fresno City] to see them,” Stebbins said. “The team is dealing with a lot of injuries right now. Just about everyone on the team has some sort of injury.”

Shin splints, a knee injury, a shoulder injury, and several other injuries kept many players from performing at their best.
“It is just that kind of year,” Stebbins said. “It’s just the end of the season and everyone is a little beat up.They just are injured and that’s my biggest curse.”

Freshman Christina Phillips, 18, had to withdraw from her singles match after re-aggravating a previous knee injury during her doubles match.

“I have tendinitis and then certain shots or moves that I do around the court could tear my meniscus.” said Phillips, who is ranked No. 3 for CRC’s team. “I’ve had it since my freshman year in high school.”

With Phillips — who was undefeated all season — pulling out of her singles match, CRC would go on to forfeit their sixth-ranked singles match, as everyone would have to move up the ladder to continue the day’s matches.

“It was just one of those injuries that played a huge role in our loss to Fresno,” Stebbins said. “It’s not even improvement at this point. It’s just staying healthy and being able to play.”

In the first meeting between these two teams, Fresno City defeated CRC 7-2. Top-ranked player sophomore Brianna Schmitgen, and third-ranked player freshman Christina Phillips, were the only ones to walk away from Fresno City with wins.

The storyline was different in this meeting, but not in a good way. The Rams left CRC with a 9-0 sweep of the Hawks.
This loss dropped the Hawks to a 3-6 overall team record, a record which will not allow the team to qualify for playoffs this season.