WORCESTER, Mass. – A brand-new season brought a brand-new look for Post University Women's Tennis as the 2024 schedule kicked off with a road matchup against Assumption University on Thursday afternoon with five newcomers on the squad. Against a young Greyhound team, the Eagles would be unable to take a match, falling in their season opener, 7-0, dropping to 0-1 to start their campaign.
THE BASICS
Post University 0, Assumption University 7
Post University (0-1)
Assumption University (1-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sweeping through the Doubles matches, the Greyhounds got a pair of 6-3 victories in the #1 and #2 Doubles competitions as freshmen
Annelein Van Urk and
Julie Merlin fell to sophomores Marie Knispel and Caroline Mader in the #1 Doubles. Senior
Nina Langenfeld and freshman
Romy Leussink were the #2 Doubles duo who fell against sophomores Carolina de Souza and Danielle de Souza.
A 6-1 victory in the #3 Doubles would go the way of the Greyhounds' duo in freshmen Ina Bechle and Laurence Bosmans, defeating junior
Gioia Turco and senior
Megan Lombardt to complete the sweep after already earning the single point for the Doubles.
All but one Singles match would be two-set sweeps for Assumption as Lombardt fell to Knispel in the #1 Singles by a pair of 6-4 finishes with
Romy Leussink dropping her #6 Singles match against Bechle with consecutive 6-1 decisions.
Merlin would put up a good fight in set one of the #2 Singles against Mader, losing 6-4, before falling 6-1 in set two while Carolina de Souza nearly swept the #4 Singles for Assumption with a 6-1 and 6-0 victory over Van Urk.
Melanie Leussink and freshman Madison Ericson would duel in the #5 Singles with Ericson emerging victorious with set wins of 6-3 and 6-1.
In the final match of the afternoon, Langenfeld and Bosmans would have a three-set contest that saw Bosmans take set one, 6-3, before Langenfeld came back with a 7-6 set two win to force a decisive 10-point third set. Going well beyond the 10-point tiebreaker, Bosmans would escape with the win to give the Greyhounds a sweep, 7-0, with an impressive 19-17 third-set win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Today marked the first collegiate match for four Post University players in Julie Merlin, Annelein Van Urk, Melanie Leussink, and Romy Leussink
- This was the first time since the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons in which Post University lost their season opener in back-to-back years – The Eagles started 0-1 last year before rattling off five straight wins to move to 5-1 overall
- In Singles play dating back to last season, Megan Lombardt has lost 11 consecutive matches – Lombardt's last Singles win came against Molloy University last September
- After winning their first matchup against Assumption during the 2022-23 season, 7-0, Post University has lost their last two matchups against the Greyhounds by scores of 4-3 and 7-0
WHO'S NEXT
Post University opens their 2024 home slate on Saturday afternoon at the Edgewood Bath and Tennis Club with a 1:00 PM start against D'Youville University. The Eagles have faced the Saints each of the last three years, winning all three matches by a combined 23-1 with a perfect 14-0 record in matches played on their home court.
