The Pomona-Pitzer Women’s Tennis Team suffered a difficult fate at the SCIAC championships last weekend, as star Heather Gorman ’00 went down with an injury in the semifinals on Friday. But the team prevailed over Redlands, 7-2, in that match only to suffer a tough defeat without Sheree Schwartz ’02 in the lineup against CMS in the SCIAC championship Saturday, 7-2.

Gorman plays at the top seed in doubles and at the two position in singles, while Schwartz plays number two doubles and third singles, so though the loss of the two players may not be entirely equivalent to a top tier loss, it was significant nonetheless.

Gorman injured her leg in the team’s win over Redlands, a match which followed the team’s first round drumming of Occidental, 5-0.

"In her double’s match, Heather was running back for a lob and she was trying not to run into the fence. Somehow her leg went one way and her knee the other. She tore her ACL, so they had to default that match and she couldn’t play on Saturday," said Schwartz.

For religious reasons, Schwartz also could not play in the championship on Saturday against the mighty Athenas, forcing each player to move up two spots in the lineup. And, if the team’s troubles were not already bad enough, the number one singles player, Bridget Humphrey ’00, also was suffering from asthma.

However, "[Bridget] played beyond any physical difficulties. If I had to be proud of one match all season, it would be that match [against CMS]," remarked Gorman.

"Everyone else on the team competed really well," added Schwartz, "but it was just too much to have them move up two spots in the lineup. The matches weren’t incredibly close, but they were all decent matches."

Ginger Wachter ’02 moved up to the number five spot, while Kristina Sturman PI ’02 was forced to play one of her only matches of the year at the number six position.

Yet despite the 2-7 loss, the team put out nothing short of an impeccable effort. "I think that Saturday was really a good show for the players that had to step it up a notch. It showed a lot of effort - they all really played their hearts out and played amazing tennis," said Gorman. "The score might look disappointing, but I think that anybody who had seen the match would have [been amazed]."

The players were also attempting to battle their way into Nationals, but without Gorman the team was obviously shorthanded. Now, with the Nationals selection approaching, the team is only slightly optimistic.

Difficulty of schedule—the team lost to the top team in the nation, Amherst, by only a 6-3 count—and record both are crucial factors to the National Committee.

‘The National bid comes out on Monday or Tuesday," said Schwartz. "We are all being realistic and doubt that we’ll make it, but at this point we still have to schedule our plans around the possibility that we’ll go. The biggest thing we have going for us is that most of our losses have come on Saturday," the day in which Schwartz cannot compete.

"We’ve known we’ve been on the bubble for the last part of the season, but I think we will all try to think positive. It is very subjective who goes," added Gorman.

In the meantime, the accolades for the team are reigning down. Schwartz found her way onto the pages of the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, and to add to that she was named to the all-conference team along with Gorman and Humphrey, the latter who was, for the second year in a row, named the SCIAC player of the year. Meghan Gould ’01 was named to the second team of all-SCIAC.

"Bridget deserved it as much this year as last year. She is definitely unstoppable in SCIAC. For Sheree as a freshman to be recognized is quite an honor. That is definitely noteworthy [that a number three singles player was named]," added Gorman.

Aside from the loss of two of their top players, the team as a whole played with pride against CMS on Saturday. Whether or not they participate in Nationals, the team can still take pride in their successes, which defined a long, difficult season.