Tag: women’s tennis

By Lindsay Regruto

Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team defeated Lehigh in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament last weekend before falling in the semifinals to Navy. The Bison followed its semifinal loss with a 6-3 win over Bloomsburg. 

“It was a challenging season in terms of injuries and such. We have a very young, talented squad,” head coach Rebecca Helt said. “Everyone worked hard to improve their fitness, their level of play on court and their mental toughness.”

Against Lehigh, the Bison were able to pull off an outstanding 4-0 win on Friday to advance to the semifinals. Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 took a decisive 8-4 win at the No. 3 doubles position, while Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Daria Tuzhikova ’13 followed with an 8-6 win at the No. 1 position. Lydia Colvin ’15 and Courtney Casey ’12 were tied 6-6 when the doubles point was given to the Bison.

“Despite the score, the match against Lehigh was not easy, and therefore, it was a well-deserved win,” Iepuras said. “Even though I did not get to finish my match, I was proud of my teammates who helped us move forward into the semifinals.”

In singles play, both Colvin and Casey played strong matches, claiming a pair of wins at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots respectively. Tuzhikova defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 4 singles spot to seal the win for the Bison. Iepuras, Vidrascu and Christie Schneider ’15 were all still playing when the Orange and Blue claimed the victory.

The following day, Casey and Colvin battled it out at the No. 2 doubles spot, earning an 8-6 win, while Vidrascu and Tuzhikova lost a close back-and-forth match at the No. 1 spot 9-7. The Bison tried to battle back in the singles matches but couldn’t overcome Navy’s momentum. The Mids knocked out the Orange and Blue 4-0 to advance to the finals.

“During the most challenging times of our season, these women pushed each other yet supported each other. It’s about the entire process, the work, the sacrifice, the communication, the effort and the personal growth that each athlete experiences that really represents a team,” Helt said. “I’m proud of each and every student-athlete on this team and I hope they feel that same sense of pride.”

Women’s Tennis v. Lehigh (Fri 3 p.m. HOME), @ Army (Sat 3 p.m.), @ Lafayette (Sun 10:30 a.m.) v. Robert Morris (Wednesday 3 p.m. HOME)

By Lindsay Regruto
Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team picked up two wins out of three straight Patriot League matches this week against Lafayette, Army and Lehigh as well as a 6-1 win against Robert Morris.

The Bison started off the day on Wednesday, April 18 with two wins against Robert Morris in doubles. Courtney Casey ’12 and Lydia Colvin ’15 picked up an 8-2 at the No. 2 spot while Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 followed with a large 8-3 win in the No. 3 spot.

Iepuras went on to battle it out at No. 1 singles winning her match 10-6 in the third set. Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Casey won in straight sets at the No. 2 and 3 positions, respectively. Lauren Boone ’15 bounced back from a second set loss to take the third set 10-4 winning at the No. 5 position. Morgan followed with a straight set win at the No. 6 spot to give the Orange and Blue a 6-1 win over Robert Morris.

Bouncing back from a tough loss against Army, the Orange and Blue had its largest win of the season defeating Lafayette 7-0 on April 15. Tuzhikova and Elena Vidrascu ’14 won 8-2 at the No.1 doubles spot while Casey and Colvin picked up an 8-4 win at the No.2 spot to pick up the doubles point for the Bison.

“It was good to see everyone play solid and pick up an important win,” head coach Rebecca Helt said. “Right now we’re just focused on getting and keeping everyone healthy for the weekend so we can end our season on a strong note.”

With a 1-0 lead, the Bison went on to sweep all six singles positions. Vidrascu, Colvin, Tuzhikova, Casey and Christie Schneider ’15 won in straight sets while Iepuras came back from a first set loss for the win over the Leopards.

Army proved to be a tougher opponent for the Bison who fell to the Black Knights 7-0 on April 14. Tuzhikova and Vidrascu pulled out a close 8-6 win at No.1 doubles. Army defeated the Bison in the other two doubles positions to take the doubles point. The Black Knights went on to defeat the Bison in all six singles positions despite close matches at No.1 singles by Iepuras and No. 4 singles by Tuzhikova.

The Orange and Blue earned their first Patriot League win of the season defeating Lehigh 5-2 on April 13. The Bison swept all three doubles positions in close matches to earn the doubles point. Starting off the day on a stong note, the Bison went on to earn wins in four out of the six singles positions. 

The Orange and Blue will take on Lehigh on April 20 at 10 a.m.

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.

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.

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.