Photo by: Dustin Satloff
Tennis Captures Tight Victory Over UPenn
Feb 15 | Women's Tennis
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J.Ā ā Rutgers tennis picked up a tight 4-3 victory over the UPenn Quakers on Saturday evening at East Brunswick Racquet Club. After narrowly missing the doubles point, the Scarlet Knights rallied back with four singles wins to clinch the match, advancing their season record to 6-2.Ā
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"I couldn't be prouder of our effort today. To come back and fight in singles the way they did was just tremendous," stated head coachĀ Hilary Ritchie. "Then for seniorĀ Jaci CochraneĀ to step up and have all the pressure on her in the third set, it just showed how brave they're getting and how confident they are. Hopefully, we can continue that into the rest of our season."
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For the second match in a row, seniorĀ Kat MuzikĀ and juniorĀ Maya JacobsĀ started the Scarlet Knights off strong in the No. 3 doubles spot. The duo swept opponentsĀ Amanda ChanĀ andĀ Jennifer Richards,Ā 6-0.
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SophomoresĀ Kristiana ZahareĀ andĀ Sydney JonesĀ dropped a 6-3 set toĀ Iuliia BryzgalovaĀ andĀ Marija Curnic(No. 1) evening the doubles playing field.
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In the No. 2 spot, sophomoresĀ Tess FisherĀ andĀ Sydney KaplanĀ battledĀ Carolyn XieĀ andĀ Ashley ZhuĀ for the doubles point, but ultimately fell 6-7 (7-5).
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Early in singles play, the Quakers were able to raise the team score 3-0 after Fisher (No. 1) fell to Bryzgalova, ranked no. 11 in the nation, 6-2, 6-1 and Muzik (No. 4) dropped 6-2, 6-0 against Chan.
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Zahare added the first point to the board for the Scarlet Knights in the No. 6 spot via a 6-4, 6-2 victory overĀ Jennifer Richards.
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Continuing the momentum, Jacobs (No. 2) defeated Zhu 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, adding the second Rutgers team point.
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Kaplan then knotted the team scores at three all after a three-set win over Curnic 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the No. 3 spot.
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Cochrane clinched the match for Rutgers in a nail-biter againstĀ Clarise HuangĀ in the No. 5 spot. After splitting the first two sets 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), Cochrane took the third set 7-5 solidifying the win for the Scarlet Knights.
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"It's always very difficult after losing the doubles point, and we went down in a couple matches (in singles) pretty quickly," said Cochrane. "It wasn't me; I wasn't the first one (to win), I had Kristiana, Sydney, and Maya. We had some big wins, and that boost helped me with the momentum. They started it and then I gladly finished it."
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Rutgers returns to the court on Friday, Feb. 21 against Seton Hall. The match is set for 12:30 p.m. at the East Brunswick Racquet Club.
Follow Rutgers tennis onĀ Twitter,Ā Instagram, andĀ Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App forĀ AppleĀ orĀ AndroidĀ today.
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"I couldn't be prouder of our effort today. To come back and fight in singles the way they did was just tremendous," stated head coachĀ Hilary Ritchie. "Then for seniorĀ Jaci CochraneĀ to step up and have all the pressure on her in the third set, it just showed how brave they're getting and how confident they are. Hopefully, we can continue that into the rest of our season."
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| DOUBLES |
For the second match in a row, seniorĀ Kat MuzikĀ and juniorĀ Maya JacobsĀ started the Scarlet Knights off strong in the No. 3 doubles spot. The duo swept opponentsĀ Amanda ChanĀ andĀ Jennifer Richards,Ā 6-0.
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SophomoresĀ Kristiana ZahareĀ andĀ Sydney JonesĀ dropped a 6-3 set toĀ Iuliia BryzgalovaĀ andĀ Marija Curnic(No. 1) evening the doubles playing field.
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In the No. 2 spot, sophomoresĀ Tess FisherĀ andĀ Sydney KaplanĀ battledĀ Carolyn XieĀ andĀ Ashley ZhuĀ for the doubles point, but ultimately fell 6-7 (7-5).
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| SINGLES |
Early in singles play, the Quakers were able to raise the team score 3-0 after Fisher (No. 1) fell to Bryzgalova, ranked no. 11 in the nation, 6-2, 6-1 and Muzik (No. 4) dropped 6-2, 6-0 against Chan.
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Zahare added the first point to the board for the Scarlet Knights in the No. 6 spot via a 6-4, 6-2 victory overĀ Jennifer Richards.
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Continuing the momentum, Jacobs (No. 2) defeated Zhu 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, adding the second Rutgers team point.
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Kaplan then knotted the team scores at three all after a three-set win over Curnic 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the No. 3 spot.
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Cochrane clinched the match for Rutgers in a nail-biter againstĀ Clarise HuangĀ in the No. 5 spot. After splitting the first two sets 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), Cochrane took the third set 7-5 solidifying the win for the Scarlet Knights.
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"It's always very difficult after losing the doubles point, and we went down in a couple matches (in singles) pretty quickly," said Cochrane. "It wasn't me; I wasn't the first one (to win), I had Kristiana, Sydney, and Maya. We had some big wins, and that boost helped me with the momentum. They started it and then I gladly finished it."
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| UP NEXT |
Rutgers returns to the court on Friday, Feb. 21 against Seton Hall. The match is set for 12:30 p.m. at the East Brunswick Racquet Club.
Follow Rutgers tennis onĀ Twitter,Ā Instagram, andĀ Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App forĀ AppleĀ orĀ AndroidĀ today.
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- RU -
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
Order of Finish:
1,4,6,2,3,5
Monday, October 06
Friday, February 28
Thursday, December 19
Wednesday, November 08















