Coming into its Friday meeting with Seton Hall, NJIT boasted an impressive 7-1 record. That trend would continue, undoubtedly for the Pirates, as they fell, 4-3.
NJIT came out with a fiery hunger for victory after suffering its first loss of the season just days earlier, with the team’s play showing an obvious quest to avenge the loss.
As usual, Seton Hall’s Anicka Fajnarova and Regina Pitts led off doubles play in flight one. Fajnarova had struggled mightily going into play, but Pitts has been able to pick up the slack, posting two singles victories in the Pirates’ last outing. They were met with an onslaught from the Highlanders’ duo of Holly Matson and Joleta Budima, however, who took control of the match early on and never surrendered momentum, ultimately finishing with a 6-1 rout.
In the second doubles flight was the pair of Thandy Kangwa and Minja Gligic, who were not unable to keep up NJIT’s blistering pace, losing 6-3. Michal Matson and Melody Taal were the last hope for Seton Hall in the doubles flights, but at this point NJIT had secured control of the court and picked up its third win on the day with ease, another 6-3 defeat.
Singles play did not fare much better for the Pirates. Fajnarova, Taal, and Anniek Jansen all dropped their matches, tallying just one win among the three. Positive lights included a hard-fought Pitts shootout that resulted in her 6-4 overcome, and sweeps from Mekeila Erspamer and Gligic, but the few bright spots were overshadowed by multiple bashings from the Highlanders, who ultimately improved their record to 8-1.
Next up, the Pirates will visit Georgetown for a Big East matchup on March 1.
Justin Morris can be reached at justin.morris@student.shu.edu.
