University of Richmond
Pennsylvania
Richmond Edged by Penn
02/12/2012 | Women's Tennis
The Women's Tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Richmond came out strong to win the doubles point. Melissa Kandinata and Joanna Matuszczyk defeated their opponents, 8-4 to pick of the first win, however the Quakers rallied to earn the second win of doubles play, tying the score 1-1. Helen Cunningham and Alexandra Smyth forced the Quakers into a tiebreak where they were able to pull out a 7-5 win to secure the point.
In singles play, senior Joanna Matuszzczyk picked up the second point for the Spiders by defeating Daniela DePaoli, 6-3, 6-1. "It was good to see Joanna Matuszczyk getting back into form," says Head Coach Mark Wesselink. "She won a lot of matches for us last year and she looks poised to step back into a leadership role. She has a shot selection that can give opponents fits."
Sophomore Elizabeth Sims earned her third straight win in singles play by defeating Emma Whitfield 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. Wesselink comments, "Elizabeth Sims continued her domination at the #5 spot. Elizabeth is so mentally tough. We count her to bring it and she always does."
"We may not have won but this match will definitely make us tougher," says Wesselink. "We played for 5 hours, winning the doubles point in the final tiebreak, 7-5 and losing the last singles match 6-4 in the 3rd set. It's early in the season and we need these kinds of matches to make us stronger and motivate us to put in the hard work necessary to win close matches."
The Spiders return to action on February 18th for their first home match against Longwood University.
Penn 4, Richmond 3
Doubles
1. Cunningham/Smyth (UR) def. Eskenazi/Rodin (P), 9-8 (5)
2. Kandinata/Matuszczyk (UR) def. Do/Ion (P), 8-4
3. DePaoli/Whitfield (P) def. Sims/Horoz (UR), 8-4
Singles
1. Sol Eskenazi (P) def. Helen Cunningham (UR), 6-1, 1-6, 6-3
2. Stephanie Do (P) def. Melissa Kandinata (UR), 3-6, 7-5 (6), 6-4
3. Alex Ion (P) def. Alexandra Smyth (UR), 6-3, 6-2
4. Joanna Matuszczyk (UR) def. Daniela DePaoli (P), 6-3, 6-1
5. Elizabeth Sims (UR) def. Emma Whitfield (P), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
6. Jules Rodin (P) def. Nil Horoz (UR), 6-1, 6-0
Players Mentioned
