Women's Tennis Starts Season at NJIT Invitational

Saturday, January 20

Newark, NJ

Rutgers University

NJIT Invitational

Women's Tennis Starts Season at NJIT Invitational

Jan 21 | Women's Tennis

Draw A Results Draw B Results Draw C Results

Scarlet Knights claim titles in Doubles Draw A and Singles Draw C

NEWARK, N.J. – Rutgers women's tennis opened its spring season at the NJIT Invitational over the weekend at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility. The flight tournament included Army, Fordham and host NJIT.

In doubles action, senior Mingxiu Du and sophomore Kat Muzik claimed the title in Draw A, defeating fellow Scarlet Knights freshman Maya Jacobs and sophomore Jaci Cochrane. Cochrane went on to earn the title in Singles Draw C.

DOUBLES DRAWS
In the opening round of Doubles Draw A, Jacobs and Cochrane defeated Fordham's Tatiana Grigoryan and Alexis Zobeideh (6-1). The duo then went on to top NJIT's Mayar Eltony and Advaita Saravanan (6-4). Meanwhile, Du and Muzik earned an 7-5 win over Carina Ma and Estelle Wong of Fordham followed by a straight, 6-0 victory over Alba Rosas Garcia and Matson of NJIT.

The finals of Doubles Draw A would then see a matchup between the Scarlet Knight pairs of Jacobs and Cochrane and Du and Muzik, as Du and Muzik earned the victory by a score of 6-2.

"We definitely did well in doubles," said Du. "Especially, for both pairs to get into the finals. We both played pretty well today so I think it was a pretty good start."

Senior Chloe Lee and freshman Isabella Da Silva opened Doubles Draw B with a 7-6 win over Army's Leslie Frankland and Abi Waldman. However, the pair fell in the following round to NJIT's Rafaella Sampaio and Amanda Helminsky (6-3).

SINGLES DRAWS
Jaci Cochrane led Rutgers in the singles draws, taking the title in Draw C. Cochrane first topped Army's Frankland (6-2, 6-0) before defeating NJIT's Helminsky (6-1, 6-0). In the semifinals, the Fort Dodge, Iowa, native earned a 6-4,7-5 win over the Rams' Maia Balce.

Cochrane then claimed the bracket with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against the Black Knights' Sasha Inchauste.

"I'm super happy with the win. I think it was a great way to start the season," said Cochrane. "We came back early specifically to train for this tournament and I am really happy with the consistency throughout the entire tournament."

Muzik and Du each recorded opening round victories in Singles Draw A. Muzik topped the Highlanders' Saravanan (7-5, 3-6, 10-4) and Du defeated the Rams' Wong (6-4, 6-2). However, both would fall in the following round.

Although Lee recorded a 7-6 (1), 7-5 victory over the Rams' Grigoryan to begin Singles Draw B, the senior would fall to the Highlanders' Holly Matson (6-3, 6-2) in the following round as well.

Da Silva played her way to the final of Draw C's consolation round. However, in the eight-game pro set style match, Da Silva dropped the tie breaking round to NJIT's Sampaio (8-6).

UP NEXT
Rutgers will host Binghamton for its home opener on Friday, Jan. 26. The match is set for a 12:30 p.m. ET start at the East Brunswick Racquet Club.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (Rutgers Athletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers women's tennis, follow the program on Facebook (RutgersTennis), Twitter and Instagram (@RutgersTennis). Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.

- RU-