After a 2-1 end to the regular season, the Seton Hall women’s tennis team traveled south to Cayce, S.C. for the Big East Tournament, knowing its quarterfinal opponent: the No. 4 seed Xavier Musketeers. On Friday afternoon, in a contest that’s final score was more lopsided than the back-and-forth matches that made it up, Seton Hall was defeated, 4-1, at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center.
In her final Big East competition, senior Luize Strike defeated Xavier’s Ahmeir Kyle in the No. 1 singles spot. Strike took two straight sets against Kyle, with 6-4 and 6-1 victories. At this time, the day seemed bright for the Pirates, as her win evened the score at 1-1. Instead, the next three singles matches went into the win column for the Musketeers, locking up victory for the side from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Seton Hall dropped its first doubles flight in the Friday faceoff, with Strike and Anicka Fajnorova falling to Lauren Ghidotti and Sophia Abelson of Xavier, 6-2. Needing a win, Pirate sophomores Melody Taal and Michal Matson fought back to win, 7-5, at No. 3 doubles. In the deciding No. 2 doubles match, Pirates senior Katie Kim and junior Thandy Kangwa suffered defeat by the same score, 7-5.
None of the singles matches which were completed went to three sets, as Taal, Kangwa and Anniek Jansen all fell in straight sets.
Due to the result of the match already being decided, the second and fifth singles were both marked as “DNF,” or did not finish. Fajnorova and Matson were both fighting back in close matches, however, Xavier had already captured the spoils.
The one-sided loss on paper is a harsh way for the Pirates to end their conference season, a season in which the team showed promise down the stretch with new head coach Kevin McGlynn.
Anthony Talarico can be reached at anthony.talarico@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @ant_tal.
