Scarlet Knights Split Pair of Tightly Contested Matches
Feb 15 | Women's Tennis
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Rutgers women’s tennis team dropped its first BIG EAST match of the season to Cincinnati, but followed it up with a victory over Xavier to complete a weekend of closely contested matches. The Scarlet Knights fell to the Bearcats 4-3, but topped the Musketeers by an identical 4-3 score.
Rutgers is now 3-2 overall and 0-1 in BIG EAST play, while Cincinnati improves to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the league. Xavier falls to 4-4 on the year.
“Both matches were extremely close, competitive and well played,” said head coach Ben Bucca. “We were unfortunate to come up a few points short against Cincinnati, but we were fortunate to come up a few points ahead against Xavier. We hope to continue our competitive play as we have two big matches coming up against Seton Hall and Marquette.”
Sophomore Amy Zhang (Plano, Texas) led RU to the victory over Xavier, winning both her singles and doubles matches. Zhang topped Kara Courtney 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 singles and she paired up with teammate Polina Zaretser (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for an exciting 9-7 win at No. 2 doubles.
Freshmen Jennifer Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) and Morgan Ivey (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) proved to be RU’s most reliable doubles duo, picking up wins in both matches. They were the only doubles team to win against Cincinnati, defeating Jen Rowen and Elizabeth Young, 8-5, at the No. 2 spot. The freshman duo won at No. 3 doubles against Xavier, downing Jill Ducro and Christie Pleiman, 8-6.
The Scarlet Knights will begin a five-match homestand on Thursday against Seton Hall. The match will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the RU Tennis Bubble.
AGATE:
Cincinnati 4, Rutgers 3
Doubles
1. Slynko/Dandik (Cincy) def. Arlak/Tran (RU), 8-2
2. Holzberg/Ivey (RU) def. Rowen/Young (Cincy), 8-5
3. Wise/Ismail (Cincy) def. Zhang/Baker (RU), 9-7
Singles
1. Ksenia Slynko (Cincy) def. Amy Zhang (RU), 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-5
2. Katherine Arlak (RU) def. Jen Rowen (Cincy), 0-6, 7-5, 6-4
3. Polina Zaretser (RU) def. Jessica Wise (Cincy), 6-0, 6-0
4. Val Dandick (Cincy) def. Jennifer Holzberg (RU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
5. Safiyya Ismail (Cincy) def. Maryana Milchutsky (RU), 6-0, 6-0
6. Morgan Ivey (RU) def. Elizabeth Young (Cincy), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Rutgers 4, Xavier 3
Doubles
1. Kinnard/Treece (XU) def. Arlak/Tran (RU), 8-4
2. Zaretser/Zhang (RU) def. Courtney/Feider (XU), 9-7
3. Holzberg/Ivey (RU) def. Durco/Pleiman (XU), 8-6
Singles
1. Amy Zhang (RU) def. Kara Courtney (XU), 6-4, 6-4
2. Tifanie Treece (XU) def. Katherine Arlak (RU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Jennifer Holzberg (RU) def. Kelsey Kinnard (XU), 6-1, 6-3
4. Maryana Milchutsky (RU) def. Jeanette Feider (XU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Kaitlyn Zinn (XU) def. Leonora Slatnick (RU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Jill Ducro (XU) def. Caitlin Baker (RU), 6-4, 6-4
