Category: Tennis

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis struggles

By Lindsay Regruto
Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team dropped three tough matches over the week against George Mason, Colgate and Towson, leaving them 2-15 on the season.

Elizabeth Morgan ’14 and Lauren Boone ’15 pulled out a close win (8-7) on Saturday against their opponents from George Mason in the No. 3 doubles slot. Doubles play overall was intense and hard-fought, but the Bison ended up dropping the doubles point to George Mason after two close losses in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

“At Saturday’s match, it was great for me and Lauren to pull out a win in doubles, especially after being down most of the match and coming back to win in a tiebreak,” Morgan said.

Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 came out strong after her loss in doubles play to defeat her opponent. Christie Schneider ’15 picked up the second win for the Bison at the No. 4 singles slot. The victories in singles weren’t enough, and the Orange and Blue fell to the Patriots 5-2 overall.

“Although we weren’t able to win the overall match as a team, it was definitely a step in the right direction,” Morgan said. “Hopefully we will be able to turn our season around for our last couple of matches.”

On Friday, the Bison lost to Patriot League opponent Colgate 4-3. Iepuras and Lydia Colvin ’15 battled it out in No. 2 doubles to grab an 8-5 win. One win wasn’t enough, though, and Colgate took the doubles point.

Schneider picked up her first win of the spring coming back from a 3-6 loss in the first set to win the next two sets 6-3, 7-6.

“My match was extremely close the whole time but I was able to pull out the win because my teammates were on the court next to me cheering,” Schneider said. “I think with our positive attitudes … we will be able to do well as our season ends.”

Elena Vidrascu ’14 defeated her Raiders opponent 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 3 slot. Iepuras picked up a win as well after a three-set match (6-3, 1-6, 6-2) in the No. 1 spot. The wins gave the Orange and Blue three overall team points, but it was not enough to defeat Colgate.

“We had some pretty good matches against Colgate but I think because of the different lineup it was a bit difficult,” Vidrascu said. “Despite difficulties … we have all adapted to the fact that we have to constantly make changes and this helps us not to fall apart.”

On Thursday, the Bison fell 5-2 to the Towson Tigers. Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Vidrascu beat their opponents in the No. 1 doubles position 8-5. The Orange and Blue couldn’t grab another win, and the doubles point went to Towson. The two other wins for the day were in No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Iepuras earned a large victory over her opponent 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 1 slot. Colvin also had a decisive win at the No. 2 slot 6-3, 6-1.

“Overall, even though we didn’t have our starting line-up due to injured players, we really stepped up as a team and showed our potential for the years to come,” Colvin said.

The Orange and Blue will face off against Patriot League opponent Lehigh today at 3 p.m.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis gets shut out by Georgetown

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team fell to Georgetown at the Hoyas’ home court on Friday. The Hoyas beat the Bison in every match, winning the contest 7-0. Georgetown is now 8-5 on the season, while the Orange and Blue have now lost eight straight outings and are 2-11.

Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Daria Tuzhikova ’13 competed hard in each of their singles matches, but both players ended up with losses. Tuzhikova put up a fight against Madeline Jaeger but eventually lost 6-2, 6-1, while Iepuras lost her singles match against senior Lauren Greco 6-1, 6-1.

The Bison played well in the No. 2 doubles matches with Courtney Casey ’12 and Lydia Colvin ’15, taking four games against Tina Tehrani and Victoria Sekely. Tehrani and Sekely were victorious in the end, winning 8-4. 

The Bison competed against Towson yesterday after press time. They will return home this weekend to take on Colgate at 1 p.m. this afternoon and George Mason at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

 

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis falls to rival Navy

By Lindsey Regruto

Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team put up a strong start against Navy in its Patriot League opener, but couldn’t pull out the win, falling 5-2.

The Orange and Blue secured the doubles point, winning two of three matches. Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 pulled out a 9-7 win at No. 1 doubles, while Courtney Casey ’12 and Lydia Colvin ’15 secured the doubles point for the Bison with another tight win (8-6) in the No. 2 position. Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Jen Bush ’15 played a great match to almost sweep the doubles position but fell 9-8 to their Navy opponent at third doubles.

“It was a tough match for us against Navy,” Vidrascu said. “I don’t think that it was necessarily because they were better. We have the players, we have the talent, we just need the confidence.”

In singles, Iepuras earned the lone victory for the Orange and Blue, defeating her opponent decisively 6-3 in two sets. Iepuras’s win brings her tied for eighth in program history for total wins with a record of 106-84. Vidrascu took her match to three sets, winning the first 6-4 but dropping the last two. The Bison couldn’t pull another win in singles, dropping matches in spots two through six.

“We have all been working really hard,” Vidrascu said. “We’re better than the outcome we’ve been showing this spring […] and I look forward to having our dual match [against Navy] during Patriot League Championships.”

About halfway through their season, the Bison have earned just two victories in 13 games and are about to enter in the most important stretch. Over the next three weeks, the team will take on four Patriot League opponents starting with Colgate on April 6.

Before then, the Bison will face Georgetown today and Mount Saint Mary’s tomorrow.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis falls to Navy

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team took on Navy at home this past Saturday in a highly contested match but fell to the Midshipmen 4-3. The close loss marked the third time in a row that the Bison have lost to Navy by just one point.

“It was a tough loss because as a team we know we are capable of beating any team, including Navy,” Josh Katten ’13 said. “However, the upside is that we know what we need to do differently in order to beat them in the conference tournament.”

The team had a strong showing in doubles as partners Katten and Evan Zimmer ’13, who were playing together for the first time, defeated Chris Kenney and Marcus Rebersak. Partners Kelly Morque ’13 and Scott Bernstein ’14 then won the doubles point for the Bison, defeating Nicholas Gutsche and Blake Daniel 8-4. With the doubles victory, the Bison were able to clinch the doubles point for just the second time since 1953.

Despite their promising doubles victory, the Bison struggled in singles, losing four of six. Katten won his singles match against Blake Daniel (6-2, 7-5), giving him his fourth consecutive singles victory. Katten has also won seven of his last eight contests and, at 17-7, has won more singles matches than any other member of the team this year. Gregory Maxson ’12 also won his singles match at the No. 6 spot against Chris Kenney (6-2, 6-1).

The Bison did hold a slim 3-2 team lead, but Gregg Cohenca ’12 was defeated by Rebersak at the No. 1 spot (6-3, 6-4), and Kyle Rosen ’14 was defeated by Gutsche (6-4, 6-3) in tough matches, allowing the Midshipmen to pull ahead to and win the match 4-3.

“We got off to a great start winning the doubles point but Navy was just tough,” Aidan Lynch ’14 said. “We’re looking forward to seeing them again down the line. We’ll be ready.”

The Bison will take on Georgetown on Friday and will complete their previously postponed match against Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis drops two of three

By Alex Wagner

Assistant Sports Editor

Despite signs of improvement, the women’s tennis team had a rough going last weekend in Olean, N.Y., dropping two of its three matches.

Things started off well for the Bison, who defeated Niagara 4-3 on Friday night, marking their first victory of the season. Elizabeth Morgan ’14 decided the victory, beating her opponent 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 6 singles spot.

“I just tried to stay really focused and play my game,” Morgan said. “I tried to stay consistent, but also to be aggressive on the right shots.”

The duos of Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Lydia Colvin ’15 and Jen Bush ’15 and Lauren Boone ’15 won two out of the three doubles matches, starting the Orange and Blue off strong.

Things continued to go well with Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Vidrascu earning victories at the first two singles spots, but losses at the next three slots left the match in Morgan’s hands.

“Although we still have things to work on, this weekend was a good challenge for us.  We played some tough matches, and performed pretty well in them,” Morgan said.

The Bison lost Saturday afternoon’s match against St. Bonaventure 7-0.  Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Iepuras started the day winning their No. 1 doubles match 9-7 against the Bonnies’ Marissa Brossard and Amanda Pallikunnel, but the other matches were too much for the Orange to Blue to handle, as they lost the remaining two doubles matches and all six singles matches.

The Bison were unable to bounce back from the loss in their next match against Duquesne on Sunday afternoon, losing 6-0. Due to time constraints, they only played the singles matches, but the Orange and Blue were unable to pull out a win in any of the six.

Vidrascu, playing at No. 2, came the closest to victory after winning the first set against her opponent.  She was unable to maintain her momentum, though, falling in back-to-back sets and eventually losing 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Despite the rough going early on in the season, head coach Rebecca Helt still has a lot of confidence in her players.

“We saw a lot of improvement in several areas … ball striking and confidence level were definitely better this weekend,” Helt said.  “This is a rough time of year.  It’s difficult to get in a good rhythm with the weather conditions, and I think once we get outside and get a few more matches under our belts we’ll continue to see a lot of improvement.”

The Bison look to get in a good rhythm in their next match, which will be against Saint Francis (Pa.) on March 2 in Loretto, Pa.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis posts winless weekend

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team lost to both Niagara and St. Bonaventure 4-3 last weekend in Olean, N.Y. 

Against Niagara, the Bison managed to split their singles matches but could not claim the doubles matches necessary to secure a victory.  Gregg Cohenca ’12, Josh Katten ’13 and Gregory Maxson ’12 each came away with big victories in singles, but the Purple Eagles were able to match the Bison with three singles wins of their own.

Cohenca played an extremely close match against Joseph Zelic at the No. 1 spot, winning the first set 6-2 and claiming the third 6-3 after losing the second in a tiebreaker. With the victory, Cohenca increased his total singles wins to 45 for his career, moving him into a tie for 13th place in program history. In the No. 3 spot, Katten defeated Lorenz Schowjer with a 6-1, 6-4 sweep.

A Niagara sweep of all three doubles matches prevented the Bison from earning the victory.

Following the first loss, the Bison came out on Saturday to face St. Bonaventure, but fell in similar fashion.

Cohenca and Evan Zimmer ’13 won the No. 1 doubles match 8-6 against opponents Luis Guevara and Oscar Yanez.

Later, in singles, Cohenca fell in straight sets at the No. 1 spot and was followed by Katten and Zimmer shortly thereafter.  For the bottom three players, the story was quite the opposite. Kelly Morque ’13, Kyle Rosen ’14 and Maxson each defeated their opponents and brought the Bison to within one of their opponent. Morque’s match against St. Bonaventure first-year Miguel Suarez was especially close, but the junior was able to come away with the three-set victory, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

In the end, the Bison rally proved too little, too late with the Bonnies having already secured the victory before the conclusion of these matches.

“It’s good we won a bunch of matches, but if we don’t get the team win, it’s disappointing,” Morque said. “We competed very well but obviously there are some things we still need to work on. These tough matches will only motivate us to work harder in practice.”

The Bison hope to rebound from these two losses when they travel to Orlando, Fla. for six important matches over spring break.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis loses at Hofstra

By Alex Wagner

Assistant Sports Editor

The women’s tennis team dropped its match at Hofstra 6-1 on Saturday.

Five out of the seven Bison playing were first-years, which means that many of the players are still adjusting their games to the collegiate level.

“It’s a match we should have won, one of the easiest on our schedule this year,” head coach Rebecca Helt said. “We won’t go through the season making excuses.”

The brightest spot for the Orange and Blue in this humbling match was Jen Bush ’15, who earned her first victory of the season. She beat Bianca Derrick 6-0, 6-4 to give the Bison their only victory of the day.

“This weekend’s match against Hofstra was a very good learning experience for our team. The outcome of the matches is not a true reflection of how well our team is capable of doing, and we are all excited to keep improving,” Bush said.

Although the Bison dropped all three doubles matches, Lauren Boone ’15 and Lydia Colvin ’15 came the closest to victory. After an intense match that saw many momentum shifts, Boone and Colvin fell 9-8 to their opponents.

“Initially, we were playing really well; we stuck to our game plan, which was to be aggressive by finishing the points quickly at the net. However, we ultimately lost the match in a tie-break mainly because we lost focus and started to play tentatively,” Boone said.

Despite the temporary setback, things are looking up for the future.

“We have the talent, perhaps more depth than we’ve had in a long time, but we have to get tougher and shake the nerves if we are going to have a successful season,” Helt said.

The Bison look to bounce back quickly this weekend in Olean, N.Y. as they will play Niagara on Friday, St. Bonaventure on Saturday and Duquesne on Sunday.

 

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis falls to Panthers

Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 earned the women’s tennis team’s only win on Saturday against Pittsburgh, defeating her singles opponent 1-6, 7-5 (10-7), as the Bison fell to the Panthers 6-1 in their season opener.

“Despite the final scores, I believe that the match against Pittsburgh was very competitive,” Iepuras said. “Even though we lost, this first match of the season was a good experience that made us stronger and more ready for our biggest competitors.”

Iepuras’s win brings her closer to moving up on the team’s all-time victories list, needing only six more wins to put her in eighth place. Courtney Casey ’12 needs only three more wins to move into the top 25 on the all-time victories list. Casey fell to her singles opponent. On the doubles court, Casey and Elena Vidrascu ’14 played a close match against their opponents, but ultimately fell 8-4.

“We knew Pittsburgh was going to be a tough team to play, but it didn’t stop any one of us from giving our best and fighting through till the end,” Vidrascu said. “No one gave up, even when being down score-wise, and I think that is going to be one of our biggest strengths for the season.”

Alyssa McAndrew ’15 and Jen Bush ’15 battled it out in doubles, but fell 8-4 in the end. Lydia Colvin ’15 vied for a second win for the team on the singles court, but could not overcome her Pittsburgh opponent (6-2, 6-4).

The Bison will be back on the court at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday.