ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – On a wild afternoon that saw Post University Women's Tennis move indoors to play Dominican (N.Y.) on the road due to rain, the Eagles could not secure their first win of the season in a critical conference matchup on Saturday, falling to 0-7 in conference play with the 6-1 loss and only three matches remaining.
With only the top four teams in the conference qualifying for next week's CACC Tournament, Post would have to win its remaining three matches against Goldey-Beacom College, Dominican (N.Y.) again, and Jefferson University to secure the fourth seed, while also seeing the Lightning lose out.
THE BASICS
Post University 1, Dominican (N.Y.) 6
Post University (0-10, 0-7 CACC)
Dominican (N.Y.) (2-6, 2-6 CACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Only five players were available for Post with the continued absence of junior
Ana Vasilis, giving the #3 Doubles to the Lady Chargers by default, as well as the #6 Singles in the same fashion. A pair of 6-2 finishes in both the 31 and #2 Doubles would give Dominican (N.Y.) the Doubles point officially, heading into the Singles with a 2-0 lead. Sophomores
Julie Merlin and
Laura Kotala fell to sophomore Hayley McGhee and freshman Hope Brown in the #1 Doubles, while the #2 Doubles was sophomore Elizaveta Kisel and senior Angelina Amelkina winning against freshmen
Vitalina Sokoliuk and
Savannah Croft.
Merlin would be the only winner of the day for Post in the Singles matches, winning the #1 Singles in three sets against Amelkina after the two split the first two sets with 6-4 winners. The sophomore would close out the victory in the 10-point tiebreaker with an 11-9 victory. The #3 Singles would end early as senior
Gioia Turco retired against Kisel after losing set one, 6-0, while the #4 Singles was won by McGhee against Kotala, 6-3 and 6-1.
In the only two matches left, junior Vanya Tyagi and freshman Bryn Fitzmaurice were victorious over Sokoliuk and Croft in the #2 Singles and #5 Singles, respectively. Tyagi's win was a 6-3 and 7-5 finish, while Fitzmaurice's was a 6-0 and 6-3 winner to close out the 6-1 win on Saturday for the Lady Chargers.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Julie Merlin pulls back to an even 5-5 in Singles matches this season with the #1 Singles win
- Dating back to last season, Post University has lost 13 straight matches and 18 of its last 19 matches
- This is the first time since the 2014-15 season in which Post University has started the season at least 0-10, when they started 0-10
- Post University's two-match winning streak against Dominican (N.Y.) was snapped with the loss today, and it is only the second time in program history that the Eagles have lost to the Lady Chargers
WHO'S NEXT
The last three matches of the season for Post University will be at home; however, due to rain in the forecast for the early part of next week, their Monday and Tuesday matches will be played in Torrington, Connecticut, at the Pinewoods Tennis Club against Goldey-Beacom College and Jefferson University at 12:30 both days. Wednesday's match against Dominican (N.Y.) is still scheduled to be played at 3:00 PM at the Edgewood Bath and Tennis Club.
