Rutgers University
Army
Rutgers Tennis Victorious Over Army
Feb 17 | Women's Tennis
MANASQUAN, N.J. (February 17, 2012) - Rutgers University women's tennis returned to its winning ways, defeating Army, 5-2, on Friday afternoon at the Atlantic Club. The Scarlet Knights improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in home matches.
"This was a hard-fought match," said ninth-year head coach Ben Bucca. "Army is a very good team with a strong spirit and we really had to dig down deep and play good tennis to defeat them. It was a very satisfying win for us."
Rutgers took the doubles point behind an 8-4 win from the first position tandem of senior Jennifer Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) and sophomore Vanessa Petrini (Stamford, Conn.) and a tightly contested tiebreaker victory from senior Morgan Ivey (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and freshman Lindsay Balsamo (Wall, N.J.). The latter duo took the tiebreaker 10-5 to clinch the point and swing momentum in favor of Rutgers heading into singles.
The Scarlet Knights won the top four singles matches in straight sets, including a dominating 6-2, 6-1 win from sophomore Stefania Balasa (East Brunswick, N.J.). RU improved to 22-8 in singles match through five matches.
The defending Patriot League champion Black Knights dropped to 6-2 overall, snapping a six-match winning streak.
The Scarlet Knights open the BIG EAST schedule on Sunday, traveling to Syracuse to take on the Orange at 10 a.m. RU went 7-3 in conference play last season.
Rutgers 5, Army 2
Singles
No. 1: Jennifer Holzberg (R) def. Erin Colton (A), 7-5, 6-1
No. 2: Morgan Ivey (R) def. Jamila Paul (A), 6-2, 6-4
No. 3: Vanessa Petrini (R) def. Margaret Iliev (A), 6-4, 6-3
No. 4: Stefania Balasa (R) def. Della Taylor (A), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5: Natalie Allen (A) def. Noor Judeh (R), 7-5, 7-6 (0)
No. 6: Elle Taylor (A) def. Lindsay Balsamo (R), 6-2, 1-6 (10-5)
Doubles
No. 1: Holzberg/Petrini (R) def. Taylor/Taylor (A), 8-4
No. 2: Colton/Paul (A) def. Balasa/Judeh (R), 8-4
No. 3: Ivey/Balsamo (R) def. Iliev/Allen (A), 9-8 (7-1)
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Players Mentioned
