PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers tennis competed in a doubleheader on Friday, with a full day of two matches at the East Brunswick Racquet Club. In the morning matched, RU pushed LIU down to the wire, ultimately falling 4-3. In the second match of the day, RU finished off the day with a strong performance, claiming a 5-1 win against Seton Hall.
"It was a long point at the end of my clinching match, I wanted to play aggressively and finish the point to get the win. I wanted to be resilient and bring effort, energy and attitude. Everyone fought really hard today with two matches. In that second match of the day, we came with great energy, effort and attitude and the results came. We all learn something from every match and want to play aggressive and with great energy. If we do that every match, I'm sure we'll have success this season."
Rutgers vs. LIU (4-3 LIU)
The doubles point came down to the last match, where the duo of
Kristiana Zahare and
Jackeline Lopez pulled out a 7-5 victory at No. 2 doubles to clinch the point.
Sydney Kaplan and
Daira Cardenas also pulled through with a 6-4 win to enable the doubles victory.
Rutgers earned a pair of singles wins, coming at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots.
Minchae Kim defeated Bianca Compuesto by a score of 6-4, 6-2 and Diana Cardenas defeated Elinor Storkaas by a 6-3, 6-4 margin. RU had a 3-1 lead after the victories, but the Sharks came back with a win at No. 2 singles, and the match would come down to a pair of three-set matches. LIU had a comeback victory with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win, putting the match down to a extremely tight battle at No. 1 singles. Ultimately, the Sharks pulled out the win there, defending two match points and claiming a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) victory to seal the match.
Rutgers vs. Seton Hall (5-1 RU)
The Scarlet Knights bounced back from a morning loss with a dominant doubles performance. RU claimed wins at No. 1 doubles and No. 3 doubles. The duo of
Tess Fisher and
Minchae Kim won 6-1, while
Daira Cardenas and
Sydney Kaplan swept a 6-0 match.
Jackeline Lopez and Kirstiana Zahare were also winning their match (4-1) at the time that the team clinched.
Rutgers continued its strong play against the Pirates into singles.
Daira Cardenas was the first Scarlet Knight to clinch a point, winning her second singles match of the day with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles.
Tess Fisher followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles to put RU ahead 3-0.
Jackeline Lopez claimed the clincher at No. 2 singles, as the freshman earned a 6-3, 6-4 win to ensure that the Scarlet Knights would finish the day with a victory. Coming to a close nearly simultaneously,
Sydney Kaplan earned a victory over Arabella Moen by a 6-0, 7-6 (5) score.
Rutgers returns to action on Tuesday, March 15, as they will travel to Surprise, Arizona for a matchup against Wisconsin.
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