By Eric Weiss
Senior Writer
The women’s tennis team opened its season with a tough loss to the hands of Navy 6-1 but roared back with a 7-0 clobbering of Villanova at home on Wednesday, putting Lauren Lucido ’11 just one win shy of the Bison school record.
Lucido continued to inch her way closer to claiming the school record for total victories over a career in both matches this past week. Lucido partnered with Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 to record the only win for the Bison in doubles play.
Lucido was also the bright spot for the Orange and Blue in singles play, taking down the No. 1 singles player for Navy in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-4.
“Tennis is an extremely mental sport, and mental toughness and intensity are very important when it comes to playing and competing at a high level,” Lucido said.
The Bison did have three other matches that they could not push towards their favor as Iepuras and Elena Vidrascu ’14 both took their singles matches to three sets. Neither could tally a win after recording a first set victory.
In the final close match Courtney Casey ’12 took her No. 4 singles game to a tiebreaker but fell 11-9 in the final.
Against Villanova, the Bison appeared to be a team that could not be stopped. The Bison did not drop a singles match as Lucido, Iepuras, Lauren Rottkamp ’11, Casey, Vidrascu and Dara Dwojewski ’11 all defeated their Villanova opponents. Iepuras, Rottkamp and Vidrascu were all able to defeat their opponents in straight sets, shutting down Villanova’s chance of a rally early.
With the match moved indoors halfway through due to inclement weather, the Bison continued their dominance in doubles play. Again the Bison made a clean sweep as the third doubles team did not even need to compete, winning by forfeit.
“The Patriot League is going to be very competitive this year. We certainly have the talent and skill that it takes to win, but in order to be successful we really need to put on our game faces and boost our overall level of intensity,” Lucido said.
Although Lucido speaks mostly about her team during her interviews, she will be seeking to eclipse the mark set by Veronica Brown ’06 as the Bison take on Patriot League foe Colgate tomorrow in Hamilton, N.Y.
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