Saturday, February 15
East Brunswick, NJ
4:00 PM
Rutgers University
4
vs
3
UPENN
Photo by: Dustin Satloff
Tennis Captures Tight Victory Over UPenn
Feb 15 | Women's Tennis
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. – 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.
"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 coach Hilary Ritchie. "Then for senior Jaci Cochrane 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."
For the second match in a row, senior Kat Muzik and junior Maya Jacobs started the Scarlet Knights off strong in the No. 3 doubles spot. The duo swept opponents Amanda Chan and Jennifer Richards, 6-0.
Sophomores Kristiana Zahare and Sydney Jones dropped a 6-3 set to Iuliia Bryzgalova and Marija Curnic(No. 1) evening the doubles playing field.
In the No. 2 spot, sophomores Tess Fisher and Sydney Kaplan battled Carolyn Xie and Ashley Zhu for the doubles point, but ultimately fell 6-7 (7-5).
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.
Zahare added the first point to the board for the Scarlet Knights in the No. 6 spot via a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jennifer Richards.
Continuing the momentum, Jacobs (No. 2) defeated Zhu 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, adding the second Rutgers team point.
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.
Cochrane clinched the match for Rutgers in a nail-biter against Clarise Huang 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.
"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."
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 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.
"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 coach Hilary Ritchie. "Then for senior Jaci Cochrane 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."
| DOUBLES |
For the second match in a row, senior Kat Muzik and junior Maya Jacobs started the Scarlet Knights off strong in the No. 3 doubles spot. The duo swept opponents Amanda Chan and Jennifer Richards, 6-0.
Sophomores Kristiana Zahare and Sydney Jones dropped a 6-3 set to Iuliia Bryzgalova and Marija Curnic(No. 1) evening the doubles playing field.
In the No. 2 spot, sophomores Tess Fisher and Sydney Kaplan battled Carolyn Xie and Ashley Zhu for the doubles point, but ultimately fell 6-7 (7-5).
| 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.
Zahare added the first point to the board for the Scarlet Knights in the No. 6 spot via a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jennifer Richards.
Continuing the momentum, Jacobs (No. 2) defeated Zhu 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, adding the second Rutgers team point.
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.
Cochrane clinched the match for Rutgers in a nail-biter against Clarise Huang 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.
"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."
| 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 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.
- RU -
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Iuliia Bryzgalova / 0 (11/-) [PENN]
66
21
#2 Singles Match
12
Ashley Zhu / 0 [PENN]
63
76
#3 Singles Match
123
Marija Curnic / 0 [PENN]
261
636
#4 Singles Match
12
Amanda Chan / 0 [PENN]
66
20
#5 Singles Match
123
Clarise Huang / 0 [PENN]
665
377
#6 Singles Match
12
Jennifer Richards / 0 [PENN]
42
66
Order of Finish:
1,4,6,2,3,5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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