First Person / Tennis Champions
Dynamic Duo

In a big victory for Pomona-Pitzer, Siobhan Finicane ’10 and Olivia Muesse ’10 won the doubles title at the NCAA Division III National Small College Championships this fall. But the tennis partners aren’t just doubles champs. They’re roommates and best friends.

Chemistry
Olivia Muesse: We’re very opposite in our backgrounds and interests. Siobhan’s from the East Coast; I’m from the West Coast.

Siobhan Finicane: She’s an artist; I’m a complete non-artist. I don’t even know how to draw. What we have in common is that we’re both happy, laid-back people.

OM: You have to be good players, but what makes a good doubles team is totally chemistry. Siobhan and I can tell when one of us is down because of our body language, and we’re really good at pumping each other up.

SF: Knowing where your partner is going to move comes with knowing the person. It was there before I even played with her. We fit really well together, and I think that’s because of our friendship.

Off the Court
OM: We became best friends last year and decided that if we got a double room this year, we would live together.

SF: Our room is in the basement of Blaisdell. We have some of Olivia’s artwork up. She’s very good.

Athleticism
OM: Siobhan is good at crosscourt play and her serve is awesome. She is a powerhouse from the baseline. I like to go to the net.

SF: She puts the ball away.

OM: We practice against each other. We’re both competitive, so when we play we don’t let up on each other. I definitely get frustrated because I usually end up losing—usually as in always. But it’s OK (laughs). I’ll keep coming back and trying to win.

Winning
OM: It was so exhilarating. I kept thinking that the worst we’ll do is lose to a team that on another day that we could have beaten. That always happens, but at the nationals it was all energy all the time.

SF: We told each other that we’d come all this way and we could do it. We really zoned.

After Pomona
SF: My goal is to go to med school, but I’ve thought about taking time off to see what I could do with tennis.

OM: I want to take a year off to go to culinary school. I’m learning a couple of different languages, and would like to go to another country and study.

SF: We talk about going to graduate school and living together in New York. Whatever happens, we know we’ll definitely stay friends.