The Lehman College women’s tennis team (3-6 Overall, 3-1 CUNYAC) won for the third time this season as they defeated the College of Staten Island Dolphins (1-6 Overall, 0-2 CUNYAC) by a score of 6-3 Tuesday afternoon at the APEX Tennis Courts in the Bronx in a CUNYAC match.
The Lightning got off to a fast start, capturing all three doubles matches. At No. 1 doubles, Lehman’s standout combination of Evauna Neville and Aurora Peters defeated the Dolphins’ pair of Gabriella Villarruel and Yelena Rasporskaya by a score of 8-2. The Lightning claimed victory at No. 2 doubles in strong fashion as Gabriela Harewood and Natalee Smith defeated the Dolphins’ Karina Zenkova and Fabiana Iannuzzi by a score of 8-4. The Lightning also won the No. 3 doubles contest as Amaia Liriano and Mina Jeung defeated CSI’s duo of Qing Li and Nancy Almazo by a score of 8-6.
When play moved over to singles, the Lightning continued to apply the pressure to Staten Island, and Lehman’s top singles players got the job done as Neville, Peters, and Harewood claimed victories at No’s 1, 2, and 3 singles, respectively. CSI recorded their only three wins in singles play at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots. Rasporskaya defeated Smith at No. 4 singles by scores of 6-2, 6-2. In the No. 5 slot, Iannuzi beat Jeung, 6-2, 6-0, and at No. 6 singles, Li led Rodriguez 4-0 before Rodriguez couldn't finish the match due to injury. Following the triumph, Lehman College Head Coach Zack Davis gave his thoughts on how his team has played.
“We are definitely coming together as a unit after a slow start,” Davis said. “This team has played terrifically in matches against conference opponents, and our confidence is growing with each passing match.”
The Lightning will return to action this Friday afternoon as they travel to the USTA outer courts to battle the Baruch Bearcats, with match time scheduled 3:30pm.