Rutgers Tennis Makes Strong Showing at USTA Invitational
Oct 10 | Women's Tennis
FLUSHING, N.Y. (October 10, 2011) - Rutgers University women's tennis went 13-8 in singles and 5-4 in doubles at the USTA Invitational over the weekend to continue a solid fall season. The event was played at the USTA National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open.
The tournament was flighted, meaning the results were generated from singles and doubles play rather than team competition.
"We had a strong performance throughout the weekend," said ninth-year head coach Ben Bucca. "Everyone left winning the majority of their matches against competition from some the best teams in the east. We left feeling really good about our performance."
Three Scarlet Knights advanced to the semifinal round of their flight in singles by winning their first two matches, including sophomore Vanessa Petrini (Stamford, Conn.) in the C draw, freshman Lindsay Balsamo (Wall, N.J.) in the F draw and junior Michelle Green (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) in the H draw.
In doubles play, RU carried the momentum of winning nine of 12 matches at the Brown Invitational two weekends ago to a 5-4 mark in New York. The pairing of senior Jennifer Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) and Petrini as well as the team of sophomore Stefania Balasa (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Balsamo each won two of their three matches.
The highlight of play over the weekend according to Bucca was the Scarlet Knights winning all 10 set tiebreakers.
"The tiebreakers suggest that matches were close and to win all of them really speaks highly of the competitive nature of the team," he said.
The team also had a chance to play and tour the top tennis facility in the United States - something that the group savored.
"It was very exciting to be on the same courts as the top players in the world," said Bucca. "It made it a special moment and a great opportunity for everyone on the team."
Rutgers tennis will be back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. in a team match at Ivy League opponent Columbia.
