Nancy Benda’s record-setting career for the Hope College women’s tennis team would not be possible with three different primary playing partners, she says.
Carli Capestany, Marie Holaway and Quincey Glupker all should share in the credit, Benda said Saturday after she passed Capestany with her 79th career doubles win during a 9-0 victory against Calvin at VandePoel-Heeringa Stadium Courts.
“I can’t thank my partners enough for what they put in,” Benda told the Holland Sentinel. “It’s been a blast. I love doubles.”
All but three of Benda’s 79 career doubles wins have come with Capestany, Holaway
and Glupker as partners.
Benda, a senior from Birmingham, Michigan (Seaholm HS), and Glupker, a freshman from
Grandville, Michigan (Grandville), teamed for an 8-2 win against Calvin’s top pair
of Claire Spoelhof and Ellie Benzel.
Benda also claimed a 6-1, 6-0 win against Spoelhof at No. 1 singles. Benda now has
61 singles wins, tying her for 11th place among Flying Dutch players all-time with
Samantha Stille.
Hope took all nine flights from an opponent for the sixth consecutive time.
The Flying Dutch improved to 9-2 overall with their eighth consecutive victory.
Hope takes a 2-0 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association record into a Tuesday,
April 4 showdown at Kalamazoo. The two teams have met in the past five MIAA Tournament
championship matches — all Flying Dutch victories.