MIDDLEBURY, Conn. – It took five days to complete, but Post University Women's Tennis was able to finally pick up their first conference victory of the season, beating Dominican (N.Y.), 5-2, at the Edgewood Bath and Tennis Club on Monday afternoon. In a match that started last Wednesday, the two sides would get through the Doubles matches without issue before rain forced the match to be postponed until this afternoon to complete the Singles with the Eagles leading 1-0.
THE BASICS
Post University 5, Dominican (N.Y.) 2
Post University (2-6, 1-3 CACC)
Dominican (N.Y.) (1-4, 0-4 CACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Before the rain ended things on Wednesday, the Eagles did take two of the three Doubles matches to ensure they would be ahead 1-0 in the match heading into the Singles. Freshmen
Melanie Leussink and
Romy Leussink were victorious in the #2 Doubles with a 6-3 win over freshman Olivia Lopez and sophomore Kyla Fouts while senior
Nina Langenfeld and freshman
Annelein Van Urk also won 6-3 over seniors Preeti Koli and Ava O'Brien to secure that point.
In a battle for the #1 Doubles, senior
Megan Lombardt and freshman
Julie Merlin had the upper hand early on against seniors Angelina Amelkina and Lia Sarjveladze, but could not hold on as the duos headed to a tiebreaker which went the way of the Lady Chargers, 7-6, on a 7-5 tiebreaker victory.
Once the rain came in the early going of the Singles matches, both teams would have to reschedule the match for today at 3:00 PM when play resumed. In no time at all, Post secured two more points with a near-sweep by Van Urk in the #3 Singles against Fouts, 6-1 and 6-1, followed by Langenfeld in the #4 Singles, 6-2 and 6-0.
That would be the identical score of the #5 Singles as well in which
Melanie Leussink defeated Lopez for the four team point of the afternoon, giving Post the team victory with three matches still going on. The last one the Eagles would be able to take was the #2 Singles in which Merlin won 6-3 and 6-0 over Koli before the Lady Chargers took two points back in the #1 and #6 Singles.
In the #1 Singles, Lombardt fought hard in set one against Amelkina and lost 7-6 on the tiebreaker which went 7-3 before set two went handly to Amelkina, 6-2. In the #6 Singles, junior
Gioia Turco looked to get back in the win column but was unable to beat O'Brien with set losses of 6-2 and 6-0, bringing the final score to a 5-2 win for Post who earned their first conference win of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Annelein Van Urk got her first collegiate Singles win in this match, beating Kyla Fouts in straight sets -- Van Urk is now 1-5 in Singles matches this season
- In two seasons competing against Post University, Angelina Amelkina is 5-1 overall in matches she participates in -- Amelkina lost to Annunciata De-Souza last season but beat Megan Lombardt later on in the season in the Singles and is now 3-0 in Doubles matches against the Eagles
- The win today snaps Post University's seven-game losing streak in conference matchups -- Before today, the Eagles last won a conference match against Goldey-Beacom College on October 3rd, 2023 at home
- Post University moves to 6-1 all-time against Dominican (N.Y.), getting back to their winning ways against the Lady Chargers after dropping their last head-to-head matchup, 4-3, at home last October
WHO'S NEXT
Post University wastes no time getting on the courts less than 24 hours from now in Middlebury, Connecticut at the Edgewood Bath and Tennis Club to take on Wilmington University in another conference matchup set for 3:00 PM. With a 2-10 record in the all-time series against the Wildcats, the Eagles have dropped their last six matches against them with the last win coming during the 2019-20 season, 5-2. Last season, Post came within one match away from victory on the road, falling 4-3 before dropping against Wilmington in the CACC Tournament nine days later, 4-1.
