PU senior finishes second at Mazzoncini Tournament
By: Justin Feil
For someone with a little rust on her racket, Alison Hashmall certainly made a fine showing at the Marco Mazzoncini Memorial Tennis Tournament last week.
The rising Princeton University senior reached the finals of the single-elimination women’s open division that began with 19 entries before falling to Luca Somorjai in three sets in Princeton University’s Jadwin Gym last Monday.
"The girls were all pretty good," Hashmall said. "But the first three matches, I think I only lost one game. The finals were really tough. She was a real player."
Somorjai was part of Auburn University-Montgomery’s NAIA Championship teams in 2001 and 2000. She was an NAIA All-America player for two years at Oklahoma Christian and two years at AUM. She resides in Philadelphia now.
"The first few matches weren’t that tough, but they were good to get back into a rhythm," Hashmall said. "The first set (in the final) was over an hour long and I won it in a tiebreaker. Since I haven’t been playing all summer, I wasn’t in the best condition though and she went on to win. She was good."
Hashmall only figures to get better in the final weeks of the summer before returning to Princeton University. Before the Mazzoncini Tournament, she hadn’t been playing tennis daily.
"Normally I do, but this summer I had a 10-week long internship," said Hashmall, who was interning for Citigroup. "It was hard for me to play a lot of tennis. It was one of those finance jobs that takes up all your time."
The timing, however, and the location made the Mazzoncini Tournament, which attracted a total of 178 players, perfect for Hashmall. It also worked out well for the lone singles winner from the area, Tina Preville of Plainsboro, who won the women’s 4.0 division. Princeton Day School graduate Alexis Jacobi and partner Starr Foster reached the open women’s doubles finals before losing. The open men’s champion was Jayat Kanetkar of North Brunswick. Hashmall got the tune-up she was looking for at the Mazzoncini.
"I just played on the weekends and (the internship) had just ended," said the New York native. "I had just started playing again. It’s perfect that it’s at Princeton. I go to Princeton, and I was in New York and it was really close.
"I’m playing another tournament at Columbia this coming weekend," she added. "I needed to get good match play and need to get back in the rhythm of playing matches before the (collegiate) season starts."
For Hashmall, who will team with Tiger junior Joanna Roth for the upcoming tournament at Columbia, the Mazzoncini Tournament was a perfect starting point to match play. Hashmall expects that she’ll continue to improve with each match in preparation for her final season with the Orange and Black.
"For one, I’m playing every day now," she said. "Leading up to last tournament, I was still in my summer job. I hadn’t practiced that whole week, so I started a little slow. I’m playing a lot of practice sets now and doing more off-court conditioning. I’m working with my coach at home and doing conditioning. Match play and conditioning are the most important things to get ready."
Last year, Hashmall went 9-3 playing primarily at the No. 3 singles position for the Tigers. As a sophomore, she bounced between first and second singles and was named to the All-Ivy team. Hashmall is hoping to be at the top of her game when the season starts, though isn’t sure where exactly that will put her in the Tigers’ lineup this year.
"It all depends on where the coach decides to play us," Hashmall said. "I’m going to play my best. I feel better about where I am now than last summer. Last summer, I had an injury. I’m just hoping to get into good shape and play my best and have a fun senior year.
"I think I’m capable of playing anywhere on the lineup. I could be playing one or two and doing well. As long as I’m winning for the team it doesn’t matter."
Hashmall nearly came out of the Mazzoncini Tournament with a win on some very familiar courts. The home-court advantage extended even as the players had to move inside for the finals due to rain.
"I don’t mind playing indoors," Hashmall said. "It’s harder to go indoors to outdoors. I’m used to the courts. I didn’t have a problem with that."
The only problem she had in the final was shaking off the final bits of rust and working on her conditioning, which pitted two players that were unseeded for the open women’s division. Hashmall’s path to the finals helped bring her playing rhythm back and raised some confidence as she played a mix of talent.
"It was a wide range," Hashmall said. "I went in not knowing who anyone was. I was just watching them all the first couple rounds. I just took it one match at a time. I watched the girls I could play in the second round and thought I could beat them. I watched the next girls and thought the same thing."
Alison Hashmall thought that all the way to the finals, where she finally met her match, but not before getting plenty out of her first entry into the Marco Mazzoncini Memorial Tournament.