A few weeks after being named the Empire 8 Doubles Team of the Year, Hartwick’s top pairing of Phoebe Olson and Gianna Leggieri are still settling into the impact of the achievement.
“This award really means a lot to me especially because it’s my senior year,” said Olson, who is from Jamestown, North Dakota. “I’m just extremely grateful that I could play with my best friend and do so well together.”
Both players said hearing their names called for the award was a moment of excitement and validation. They pointed to the gradual progress they made from week to week, the confidence they gained, and the quality of competition they faced across the conference.
“I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to play with my best friend and such a talented tennis player,” said Leggieri, a junior from Ballston Spa.
Samantha Butcher, the Hartwick coach since 2019, has won more than 50 matches during her tenure, including leading the team to a 13-2 mark and Empire 8 championship this season. Leggieri and Olson said the amount of preparation, match planning and calming presence Butcher provided were essential to handling tight moments throughout the year.
Olson and Leggieri were 11-3 this season but were not sure they were going to gel as a team or take the top spot.
“I’ve come to really love doubles and favor it, which is silly, because I used to hate doubles in high school,” Olson said.
“We were both in Oneonta for part of the summer, which was a great opportunity for us to practice and hit with one another before the season started,” Leggieri said. “During preseason, we were able to play a lot of doubles against our second doubles team.”
Both players said the moment they realized they had something special as a team came during a match they didn’t win. Their regular-season contest against Ithaca, they said, was the first time their movement, anticipation and instinctive communication clicked into place. Despite the loss, they said they walked away encouraged, believing that if they could play at that level within the conference, they had a strong season ahead.
From there, the pairing found its identity. Both players were strong at the net, comfortable finishing points, and aware of when to shift from the baseline into attacking positions. Off the court, their chemistry is anchored in a close personal friendship. They are best friends, roommates and sorority sisters. They said that the connection makes their on-court communication easier and more natural.
They also spoke highly of the team’s mental approach. Before matches, the players went through breathing exercises led by their coach, allowing them to settle into a calm, focused mindset. They tried to treat every match, regardless of the opponent, with the same mental approach, trusting their preparation rather than rising or dipping to the moment.
Their mid-season loss to Geneseo also became a key point of adjustment. They said they played that match too carefully, too safe, and not in the style that suited them best. Practices afterward focused on productive aggression: being assertive at the net without forcing and setting each other up from the baseline to create easier opportunities. When they met Geneseo again in the conference finals, they executed the game plan they had worked to sharpen, resulting in what they described as one of their most meaningful wins of the year.
The award carries personal significance for both players, though for different reasons.
For Olson, a senior, the recognition is a meaningful capstone to her Hartwick career. She said it represented the growth she experienced and credited Butcher for helping her develop as both a player and a person. Olson also expressed how special it was to share the season, and award, with her best friend.
For Leggieri, who earned First Team honors for the first time, the milestone served as motivation for the seasons ahead, she said, noting, the level of competition they faced pushed her to improve and that playing alongside Olson helped her grow quickly early in her college career.
With Butcher retiring this year, they noted how special it was to win the title and award for their coach, too.
“This also being Coach’s last year it was really special to have such a fun and successful season as a team,” Leggieri said.