Women's Tennis Edged by LIU-Brooklyn

Feb. 15, 2015

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence Friars women's tennis team fell 4-3 to the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds in a tightly contested match at Centre Court in Riverside, R.I. on Friday, Feb. 13.

In the match for No. 3 doubles, freshman Nicole Cyterski and junior Hannah Zangari cruised to a dominant 8-0 victory over Isabella Wagener and Brittany Thompson. Zangari's soft hands and quick reflexes at net were on full display, as her defense extended several points and gave the duo additional breathing room. Cyterski was her usual consistent self at the baseline, setting up Zangari for numerous easy put-aways at net. The duo improved to 2-1 on the young spring season.

Cyterski and Zangari's win was quickly followed up by an effortless 8-1 win for sophomores Jennifer DeLuca and Amanda Pitocco over Caroline Koenigsfeldt and Nancy Zonneveld out of No. 2 doubles. Pitocco's volleys were stellar throughout the match, and DeLuca's powerful forehand and strong overheads allowed the duo to cruise throughout the entirety of the contest. Pitocco and DeLuca also moved to 2-1 on the spring season.

In the No. 1 doubles match, play was halted with juniors Olivia Hogan and Alana Prinos trailing 5-3 to Sanne Louwers and Marine Dans. The Friars had clinched the doubles point to gain an early 1-0 lead.

The Friars got off to a promising start to singles play on the heels of a tremendous performance by Pitocco out of No. 6 singles. The sophomore sailed by Thompson 6-2, 6-2 behind a bevy of topspin and slice forehand winners, beautiful approach volleys, and consistent overheads. With the win, Pitocco upped her singles record in the spring to 2-0.

Pitocco's victory gave the Friars a 2-0 lead in the overall match score, but the Blackbirds were able to respond. Zonneveld defeated Zangari 6-0, 7-5 out of the No. 5 singles to give LIU their first point of the day. Defending Northeast Conference player of the year, Louwers, was able to squeak by the Friars' freshman Cyterski 7-5, 7-5 in the No.1 singles match.

With the match score tied at 2 points a piece, the Friars struck back by way of DeLuca's 7-6, 6-1 victory over Koenigsfeldt in the battle for the No. 3 singles contest. Despite trailing late in the first set, DeLuca stormed back to force a tiebreaker that she would eventually claim. The second set was DeLuca at her finest, pummeling forehands deep into the corners of the court for an array of winners, all while keeping her error totals at a minimum.

However, LIU was able to capture the last two singles matches, with Hogan dropping the fourth singles match to Wagener by a 7-6 (3), 6-0 margin, and Prinos falling in a hard fought three set match to Dans 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2.

The Friars will look to rebound this upcoming Saturday, Feb. 21, as they take on the Fairfield Stags in a match in Stamford, CT.

GO FRIARS!

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Players Mentioned

Nicole Cyterski

Jennifer DeLuca

Olivia Hogan

Amanda Pitocco

Alana Prinos

Hannah Zangari

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