New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's tennis team concludes its fall season when it hosts the New Paltz Scramble Saturday.

Similar to the Vassar Scramble earlier this season, the Hawks (2-2) will play singles and doubles against student athletes from Union and Ramapo Colleges. The match will not count towards team scoring. The scramble ending the fall season will also see an end to a lengthy stretch of tough scheduling against some of the top teams in the northeast until the team heads to Florida for its Spring Break Trip matchups.

"Tougher competition has definitely improved my collegiate career — it's made it a lot of fun," said SUNY New Paltz senior Alex Chimenti. "You see so many different players and sometimes you really surprise yourself in matches, and it also prepares us for our conference.

"That's the one thing that really matters...leading up to nationals, it's all preparation, making stronger and more confident players." 

The New Paltz Scramble accounts for the Hawks only home meet of the fall season and the first of three including the spring season.

"It's super important for us to perform well in our home meeting," Chimenti said. "It would be the first time during this entire season that our teammates and other athletes at the school get to see us perform, and it's important for us coming home to get a big win [and] leave a good taste in our mouth going into the spring season."

SUNY New Paltz coach Rob Bruley said all of his student-athletes are expected to compete in the event, which likely means that freshman Amirah Alston will get her first collegiate experience Saturday.

SUNY New Paltz comes into the scramble after a loss to RPI Wednesday, 6-3 to conclude the team scoring portion of the fall. It is just the second time in the last five seasons the Hawks have lost more than one match in a single season. Freshman Anya Barteck (2-6, 6-4, 10-8) and Tatiana Barnett (6-2, 6-4) were responsible for the two singles wins SUNY New Paltz accumulated on the day, while Barteck and senior Trinity Chow combined for the sole doubles victory in a lengthy battle, winning 8-7 after an 8-6 tiebreaker.

It was a return to team action for the first time since the Vassar Scramble after sending four student-athletes to the ITA Northeast Regionals at William Smith College. Just one Hawk — senior Chow — made it out of the first round in the tournament with a victory, but there were strong performances in all six of the matches involving the Hawks throughout that Saturday's action. Bartek, who has been impressive in her first collegiate season, lost her first round matchup against University of Rochester's Camilia Ruiz-Vega, but not before she took both sets to 5-5.

Chow and junior Onalee Batcheller won singles consolidation matches Sunday, 8-4 and 8-3, respectively, to close out the weekend in Geneva.

"Anya is getting better with each match," Bruley said. "It's still a learning curve for her as she is playing very strong and experienced players. This season has been a great learning experience for her and I see her as a major factor in the continuing success of our tennis program."

The New Paltz Scramble — and the conclusion to the women's tennis fall 2021 season — begins at the North Tennis Courts Saturday at 10 a.m.

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