The Seton Hall women’s tennis team wrapped up a successful week over spring break, going 2-1 against a mix of non-conference and Big East opponents.
Against Bucknell on March 11, the team swept a victory, 7-0. In doubles play, Anicka Fajnorova and Regina Pitts won 6-2. Bucknell’s Misi Papich and Jill Auteri won the third flight 7-6 (4), but Thandy Kangwa and Minja Gligic won 7-5 in the second flight which would clinch the first point for the Pirates on the evening.
In the singles portion, the Pirates went 6-0 to ensure the sweep. Fajnorova started off the singles bracket with a competitive 6-4, 6-3 win. Pitts and Melody Taal would then comfortably win the next two heats to lead the Pirates to a 4-0 advantage. Michal Matson would have a tougher time in her match but would eventually win out a 7-6 (8), 6-1 score. Along with Matson, Gilgic would go three rounds in her match, but she would also win, 6-2, 2-6, 10-5. Mekeila Erspamer would win the last singles match, but the Pirates would already have the whole match wrapped up by then.
The team continued its trip on March 13, defeating Ceighton, 6-1.
In doubles, the Pirates swept all three matches gaining one point on the match. Fajnorova and Pitts won 6-3, while Kangwa and Gilgic won 6-1. Taal’s and Matson’s match did not finish but still counted as a win for Seton Hall.
In singles, Fajnorova won 6-2, 6-4. In the second singles, though, the Pirates would drop their only point on the day, as Pitts lost 6-3, 6-7, and 10-7. Taal would have another three-set match in the next singles, but she closed out the win at 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
Erspamer, Gligic, and Matson all also won to solidify the victory.
The team could not continue its winning streak on March 15, however, as Xavier took home a 4-3 victory over the Pirates. The Pirates just simply could not get the better of Xavier, who was 12-2 and on an impressive 10-game winning streak coming into the game.
Fajnorova and Pitts began singles competition for the Pirates as usual, with Fajnorova in the first flight and her partner Pitts following. Fajnorova’s opponent, Ahmeir Kyle, came out victorious in the first set, 6-3, with her blazing pace setting the bar for a highly competitive matchup. Fajnorova, however, was able to respond with the same fire in sets two and three, taking them respectively 7-5, and 6-4.
Pitts amassed a win in flight B to bolster Fajnorova’s efforts with 6-4 and 6-1 victories, and Matson was also victorious, her last set an overtime thriller that ended up resulting in her 11-9 triumph to bring the Pirates to three total in singles play.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, they would drop the rest. Fajnorova and Pitts were able to ride their short-lived momentum to the Pirates’ only doubles win, but Matson and Taal were defeated, 6-4, and the pairing of Kangwa and Gligic fell, 6-1.
The Pirates return for more Big East action at home on March 22 against Butler.
Ryan Beltran can be contacted at Ryan.Beltran@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @RyanB591011 and Justin Morris can be reached at justin.morris@student.shu.edu.
