Goshen, IN — The excitement that usually surrounds the annual Goshen College Doubles Invitational was present Saturday at the Goshen College Tennis Complex, but it was muted.

Serving as the kick-off for the Leafs’ fall season since 2002, Saturday’s event went off without a hitch save for one, minor detail:

Junior Diana Diaz, Goshen’s top player for the past two seasons, was unavailable due to illness.

Second-year head coach Sarah Yoder shuffled her lineups to accommodate the lack of Diaz — Goshen College athletic trainers said Diaz should be fine by the Leafs’ first dual match of the season — but Goshen could not pull off an overall victory, taking second place in the three-team event behind Mid-Central Conference rival Huntington University.

“This doubles tournament is always a nice way to start the season,” Yoder said following the event. “It is a good way to have some competitive play before regular season duel matches begin. It is also a chance to get a sneak peak at teams we will be facing later in the season. In the past few years the tournament has included four teams, but this year we only had three because of a last-minute scheduling conflict with Anderson (University). We altered the format to be a round robin tournament instead of a regular draw.”

With Anderson out, the 2006 Goshen College Doubles Invitational seemed to be an MCC reunion, with Grace College occupying the third team slot. While the Leafs were able to win a total of two matches, it was Huntington that stole the collective show, winning five matches overall en route to the three-point team win. Grace collected a pair of wins as well, tying for second.

“Both Grace and Huntington had at least one match prior to the tournament today, and it was obvious that we were working through first-match jitters while our opponents looked much more comfortable on the court,” Yoder said. “Still, the quality of tennis was high. We have spent the last week focusing hard on our doubles in practice. This tournament helped to give us a good idea about what is working well and what we need to improve on before our next match.”

Senior Hannah Gingerich — usually paired with Diaz at Goshen’s top doubles position — teamed with junior transfer Laurelyn Foderaro to put up an impressive performance given the circumstances. Gingerich and Foderaro put away Grace by a 6-2, 6-4 count before falling to Huntington by the exact same count.

Goshen’s only other point came at the number three doubles slot, where senior Erin Gotwals teamed with sophomore Janie Beck for a 6-2, 6-4 win over Grace. That pair’s loss to Huntington came in excruciating fashion, as Gotwals and Beck dropped a 7-5 tiebreak decision in the second set, falling 6-3, 7-5.

“Hannah and Laurelyn had a great win against Grace’s number one doubles team,” Yoder said. “They served solidly and volleyed well. They were also able to put away key overheads towards the end of the match. Janie and Erin also clicked well in their match against Grace. They jumped ahead to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set and never let down. Erin’s return of serve was dominating and Janie made some key plays at the net.”

The Leafs’ second-place finish at the event equaled the squad’s result at last year’s invitational (click here for recap). Prior to that runner-up finish, the team had rattled off three straight invitational championships.

Goshen will spend a week on the practice court before opening its official season on Saturday, when the team hosts a familiar Grace opponent. Match time is set for 9:30 a.m.

Team Scoring Results:
Huntington 5 points
Goshen 2 points
Grace 2 points
Goshen Match Results:
#1 Doubles:
Hannah Gingerich and Laurelyn Foderaro
lost to Huntington 6-2, 6-4
defeated Grace 6-2, 6-4
#2 Doubles:
Katie Martin and Hannah Groff
Lost to Huntington 6-2, 6-0
Lost to Grace 6-3, 6-1
#3 Doubles:
Janie Beck and Erin Gotwals
Lost to Hunginton 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Defeated Grace 6-2, 6-4