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Providence College Athletics
Women's Tennis Defeats Fairfield
3/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 23, 2015
NEW HAVEN, CONN. - The Providence College women's tennis team defeated Fairfield University 6-1 on Friday, March 20 in a match played at Yale's Cullman-Heyman tennis facility. The Friars captured the match's first six points en route to their fourth win in their last five matches.
The Friars began the match by winning all three doubles matches on their way to earning the overall doubles point. The contest marked the first time that the Friars swept the doubles point this spring season. The No. 2 doubles tandem of sophomores Jennifer DeLuca and Amanda Pitocco started the scoring for the Friars with an 8-2 victory over Fairfield's Nicole Aragones and Sarah Stuhlmann. DeLuca and Pitocco were consistent and patient throughout the match, as they extended points and forced Fairfield into numerous errors. The win was the second in a row for the Friars' sophomores and their fifth triumph of the spring season.
DeLuca and Pitocco's victory was soon followed by an 8-5 win out of the No. 3 doubles position for freshman Nicole Cyterski and junior Hannah Zangari over Helen Abbot and Kaila Nelson. The Friars duo gained the upper hand by grinding out long baseline points and setting themselves up for put away volleys and overheads. The win marked the fifth time in the last six matches that Cyterski and Zangari captured victory out of No. 3 doubles.
The Friars won the last doubles match of the day by way of junior Alana Prinos and freshman Emma Burgess' 8-7 (1) victory over Fairfield's Karen McKeough and Allison Radde in No. 1 doubles. Prinos and Burgess burst out to a 4-1 lead, but McKeough and Radde stormed back and led 7-6 with a chance to close out the match. However, the Friar duo salvaged the 14th game and forced a tiebreaker to decide the pro-set. In the tiebreaker, Prinos and Burgess cruised to a 7-1 decision behind strong serving and smart play.
The Friars exploded out of the gate in singles play, winning the first five matches in convincing fashion. Pitocco was the first Friar off the court, as she earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Erika Nannery in the fifth singles match. The sophomore played one of her strongest matches of the year, as her strong serves and multi-faceted playing style kept Nannery off balance throughout the match. "Most of my balls were high and deep with a lot of topspin which kept her on her heels," stated Pitocco after the match. "I came to net when I could and finished off a lot of points there. It was also key that I mixed up my game and threw in some drop shots to keep her off balance." The win was Pitocco's fifth singles victory of the spring, and it gave the Friars a 2-0 advantage over the Stags.
Pitocco's win was quickly followed by Zangari's 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Abbot out of the sixth singles position. The Friars' junior was sensational throughout the match, amassing an impressive number of winners while still maintaining the consistency that has been key to her success in singles play this season. "I definitely felt like I was on fire today," said Zangari. "It was awesome to come out and play a match like that, and I'm glad I could grab another singles win for the team today." With the win, Zangari improved to 4-2 on the season in singles matches. The next Friar off the court was Burgess, who sailed to a 6-3, 6-3 win over Nelson in the fourth singles match. Burgess was her usual stellar self, dictating play with strong groundstrokes, well-located serves, and timely drop shots. "Early in the match, I almost allowed a couple of points to fluster me," noted the freshman. "However, I was able to regain my composure, confidence, and focus, and it carried me right through to the end of the match. It was a great win for the Friars." Burgess has now emerged victorious in four of her last five matches, and it was her win over Nelsen that clinched the overall match victory for the Friars.
Prinos grabbed the fourth singles victory of the day for the Friars with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Stuhlmann in the contest for 2nd singles. After a couple of competitive games to start the first set, Prinos began to assert her will and would not look back. The junior's serve was excellent throughout the match, allowing her to dictate play and take control of points early in the rallies. The win was Prinos' fourth victory in her last five singles matches and her fifth singles triumph of the spring.
The Friars' 6th and final point of the day came via a 6-2, 4-6, 10-4 victory for DeLuca over Aragones in the 3rd singles match. After a strong first set for the Friars' sophomore, Aragones battled back to take the second set and force a decisive third set tiebreaker. The tiebreaker would belong to DeLuca, as she elevated her level of consistency and powered through for another victory for the Friars in singles play. "Making adjustments was so important for me today," noted DeLuca after the match. "[Aragones] was extremely consistent and hit a very low ball, so I really had to focus on my footwork and getting in good position for every ball. Once we moved to the third set tiebreaker, I immediately put the previous two sets behind me. I had dropped my last match [against Creighton] in a third set tiebreaker, but I knew that as long as I took my time and remained patient, I would be fine." In the final match of the day, Cyterski played a strong second set but fell to Radde by a 6-2, 5-7, 10-5 verdict in their No. 1 singles match.
With the win, the Friars improved to 7-5 on the 2014-15 season. The team's next match will be on Wednesday, March 25th at Quinnipiac University.
GO FRIARS!
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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