Gamer: UNE Falls to Endicott in CNE Clash
Draft One:
Game, Set, Heart: UNE Rallies Against Endicott
By Cally Gudroe
The squeak of sneakers on blue asphalt and the pop of tennis balls echoed across the Blue Cyclone Complex on October 21, 2025, as the University of New England’s Women’s Tennis team took on conference rival Endicott College, in a Conference of New England (CNE) matchup, ending in a hard-fought 9-0 win for the Gulls.
Leading the charge for the Nor’Easters was #1 singles senior Madeline Frank, who rallied against Endicott’s Emily Leclerc. Frank claimed her first set before dropping the second and entering a 10-point tiebreaker, which she lost 5–10.
At #2 singles, sophomore Nora Hill pushed her opponent, Jillian Friedman, to long, grueling games that ended narrowly in Friedman’s favor. Senior Zoe Lambke at #6 singles and junior Andie Lamontagne at #3 both held close, competitive matches, highlighting both the growing depth and strong team connections of UNE’s first-year varsity program.
“I enjoy the long rallies and the competition,” said Hill. “My teammates cheering me on also keeps me positive in tough situations like we had today.”
“I think we’ve bonded so much over the season that hearing each other’s support on court really can change your mentality in a flip of a second,” Lambke said. “That’s what pushes us through and helps us dig deeper, even when we are losing.”
In singles play, UNE’s strongest performances came from Frank (6–3, 2–6, 5–10 tiebreak), Hill (3–6, 3–6), Lamontagne (3–6, 2–6), and Lambke (4–6, 0–6). In doubles, all three matches also went to the Gulls: Frank and Hill (2–6), Lamontagne and sophomore Alyssa Fritschka (0–6), and Lambke with senior Sydney Pelletier (3–6).
The loss carried weight for Nor’Easters postseason hopes. Only the top six teams advance to the CNE Championship, and UNE (5–4 conference, .556 CPCT) currently sits in sixth place just behind Endicott (5–2 conference, .714 CPCT). While the Gulls remain fifth in the standings, UNE still controls its playoff destiny heading into its final regular-season match.
The team’s inaugural varsity season has been one of steady progress and surprising success, with the Nor’Easters having won 11 of 15 matches overall. Endicott, by contrast, is a seasoned CNE powerhouse.
“Endicott has a culture of winning within the conference for the better part of two decades,” said head coach Jovan Jordan-Whittaker, former UMass Boston coach and Bermuda’s National Team coach. “As a first-year team, our expectations coming into this match were zero. All we wanted was to be the best version of ourselves, and these girls performed at a level I hadn’t seen all season.”
UNE will next host Nichols College on Saturday, October 25, at 1 p.m. for its Homecoming match. Nichols enters as the reigning CNE champion and 2025 NCAA tournament qualifier.
Even if the Nor’easters fall, they remain in strong contention for a playoff berth depending on the outcomes of Western New England (ranked #7) and St. Joseph’s (ranked #8) on October 23, 2025.
“If we go into the Nichols match and play even better than today, we have a legitimate shot at upsetting them,” said Jordan-Whittaker.
Draft Two (Revision):
UNE Falls to Endicott in CNE Clash
By Cally Gudroe
The squeak of sneakers on blue asphalt and the pop of tennis balls echoed across the Blue Cyclone Complex on October 21, 2025, as the UNE’s Women’s Tennis team took on conference rival Endicott College. The match ended in a hard-fought 9-0 win for the Gulls.
Leading the charge for the Nor’Easters was #1 singles senior Madeline Frank, who rallied against Endicott’s Emily Leclerc. Frank claimed her first set before dropping the second and entering a 10-point tiebreaker, which she lost 5–10.
At #2 singles, sophomore Nora Hill pushed her opponent, Jillian Friedman, to long, grueling games that ended narrowly in Friedman’s favor. Senior Zoe Lambke at #6 singles and junior Andie Lamontagne at #3 both held close, competitive matches.
“I enjoy the long rallies and the competition,” said Hill. “My teammates cheering me on also keeps me positive in tough situations like we had today.”
In singles play, UNE’s strongest performances came from Frank (6–3, 2–6, 5–10 tiebreak), Hill (3–6, 3–6), Lamontagne (3–6, 2–6), and Lambke (4–6, 0–6), but all matches fell to Endicott.
In doubles, all three matches also went to the Gulls: Frank and Hill (2–6), Lamontagne and sophomore Alyssa Fritschka (0–6), and Lambke with senior Sydney Pelletier (3–6).
“We’ve bonded so much over the season that hearing each other’s support on court really can change your mentality in a flip of a second,” Lambke said. “That’s what pushes us through and helps us dig deeper, even when we are losing.”
The team’s inaugural varsity season has been one of steady progress and surprising success, with the Nor’Easters having won 11 of 15 matches overall. Endicott, by contrast, is a seasoned CNE powerhouse.
“Endicott has a culture of winning within the conference for the better part of two decades,” said head coach Jovan Jordan-Whittaker, former UMass Boston coach and Bermuda’s National Team coach. “As a first-year team, our expectations coming into this match were zero. All we wanted was to be the best version of ourselves. They performed at a level I hadn’t seen all season.”
UNE entered the match riding a two-game win streak, having outscored their opponents 12–2 over that stretch, and showing marked improvement since their 0–7 loss to Colby-Sawyer (ranked #1).
Though the loss carried weight for Nor’Easters postseason hopes. Only the top six teams advance to the CNE Championship, and UNE (5–4 conference, .556 CPCT) currently sits in sixth place just behind Endicott (5–2 conference, .714 CPCT). While the Gulls remain fifth in the standings, UNE still controls its playoff destiny heading into its final regular-season match against Nichols.
“If we go into the Nichols match and play even better than today, we have a legitimate shot at upsetting them,” said Jordan-Whittaker.
Even if the Nor’easters fall, they remain in strong contention for a playoff berth with a .112 CPCT advantage over University of Saint Joseph (ranked #7).
UNE will host Nichols College on Saturday, October 25, at 1 p.m. for its Homecoming match. Nichols enters as the reigning CNE champion and 2025 NCAA tournament qualifier.
Reflection:
Before this project, I had plenty of journalism experience—from writing for my high school newspaper to contributing to Saco Bay News in college. But I had never written a gamer or hard news story before. Most of my previous work leaned toward creative storytelling; one that are heartfelt, descriptive pieces that allow more freedom in language and structure. Shifting to a hard news sports piece challenged me to focus on clarity, flow, and factual precision in a way I hadn’t before.
Even though I’ve worked in sports as a broadcaster and videographer, reporting in written form felt very different. Structuring a gamer was harder than I expected, and I realized I need more practice with pacing and transitions to keep the story concise but complete. Approaching players after the match also made me nervous. As an athlete myself, I remembered how frustrating postgame interviews could feel, especially after a tough loss. Because of that, I tried to frame my questions around the team’s connection and positives from the match, though I wasn’t sure how well that approach fit within a hard news format.
What surprised me most was how much attention and multitasking sports reporting demands. Covering tennis meant tracking seven matches at once, noting scores, stats, and emotional moments across multiple courts. Balancing that observation, data collection, and storytelling was very difficult, but it pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me a new appreciation for the precision and quick judgment sports reporting requires.
