WOMEN’S TENNIS
The women’s tennis team split four matches in Lakeland, Fla., over the weekend, defeating New Jersey Institute of Technology and Embry Riddle, but falling to Florida Southern and Bethune Cookman.
The Billikens jumped out of the gates against the Highlanders in their opening match. Senior Katerina Lozanova contributed to the onslaught, posting a decisive 6-4, 3-6 (10-6) victory in the No. 1 singles spot. Fellow senior Ana Renda (6-0, 6-1) and junior Tara Grant followed with victories in No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots.
Junior Rachel McCullagh (6-1, 4-6 (10-6) and sophomore Jo Becker (7-6, 6-4) helped clinch the victory for the Billikens by claiming the No. 4 and No. 5 singles spots. Sophomore Caitlin Bokulic was defeated in the No. 6 singles position, but the Billikens had already sealed a 5-1 victory over the Highlanders.
The team carried the momentum gained from the victory over NJIT into their match with Florida Southern. After jumping out to a 2-1 start, thanks to the doubles play of Renda and Becker-as well as McCullagh and freshman Allison Dobbins, the Bills fell apart in singles play. The Moccasins dominated, taking five of six matches and earning a 6-3 victory. Bokulic’s win at the No. 6 singles position (6-0, 6-0) was the only singles victory by the Billikens.
After splitting their matches on day one, the Billikens entered day two with a renewed sense of confidence. Lozanova and Renda upped their games in carrying the team through the day. Facing Bethune Cookman, Lozanova and Renda were the only Billikens to claim individual victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots. Both matches were intense, but Renda’s 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 10-7 thriller edged Lozanova’s 7-5, 7-5 victory in terms of excitement.
SLU dropped the rest of its singles matches en route to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats.
The Billikens bounced back in the afternoon session, thumping Embry Riddle by a 9-0 margin. Everyone contributed to the cause in this match. The doubles teams of Grant and Lozanova (8-4), Becker and Renda (8-3) and Dobbins and McCullagh (8-4) all posted impressive victories over their opponents, giving SLU an early 3-0 edge. Lozanova got the ball rolling with a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the No. 1 singles position. Renda (6-3, 6-2), Grant (6-4, 6-2) and McCullagh (6-2, 6-4) all followed suit, claiming victories in the Nos. 2-4 singles positions. Becker (6-4, 6-1) and Bokulic (7-6, 6-2) were reliable, clinching a shutout victory for SLU.
After an impressive performance in Florida, the Billikens traveled to Charleston, Ill., to take on Eastern Illinois on Tuesday. Renda, who was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for her efforts in Florida, was again sensational as SLU edged the Panthers by a 4-2 margin.
After Lozanova was defeated in the No. 1 singles match, Renda took charge, claiming 6-3, 6-3 victory in the No. 2 spot. After Grant fell in the No. 3 spot, McCullagh took a decisive 6-2, 6-0 triumph in the No. 4 spot to knot the match at 2-2. Becker (6-7, 6-4, 7-5) and Bokulic (6-0, 6-0) again sealed the victory for the Billikens with wins in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots.
The Billikens return to Atlantic 10 Conference play on Friday, traveling to Duquesne in a 3 p.m. match with the Dukes.
MEN’S TENNIS
While Saint Louis University students were spending the end of their spring breaks perfecting their tans on the beach, relaxing at home or visiting friends, the men’s tennis team was in action in Florida, March 15-17.
The Billikens started their 10-match road trip the right way with a 5-2 victory against the New Jersey Institute for Technology on March 15, in Melbourne, Fla.
The Bills began the day by winning all three doubles matches for the doubles point. First doubles team of Paul Feder and Sean McManus defeated NJIT in a tiebreak of the eight-game pro set to win 8-7 (7-5).
In singles action, Felipe Acosta came from behind to overcome his first singles opponent after winning the tiebreaker 10-7. Players from NJIT picked up wins at the second and third spots, but the Billikens earned victories at the final three positions.
Marcus Fadul improved his season record to 11-9 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at the fourth position. Feder won at the fifth spot 6-3, 6-2, while Matt Gordon swept his opponent 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles. Assistant coach Andrew Balcer said the nice weather allowed for some great tennis.
“It was about 78 degrees, but it was kind of windy. Our team played well, and they did a nice job handling the wind.
Now we’re just looking forward to playing three more matches outside over the next couple of days,” Balcer said in an online press release.
Little did Balcer know that a storm would sweep through the next day, and the Billikens’ subsequent match against Florida Tech scheduled for March 16 was canceled due to inclement weather.Fresh off a win against NJIT, the Billikens faced off against Bethune-Cookman College and Embry Riddle University on March 17, in Daytona Beach, Fla. It was a rough day for the Bills, though, as they dropped both the pair of matches 2-4 and 0-9, respectively.
In the first match against Bethune Cookman, only the singles matches were counted, all of which were close.
However, Matt Gordon and P.J. Hendrie were the only SLU players to walk away with victories at the sixth and third positions. Hendrie downed his opponent 4-6, 6-2 (10-1), while Gordon easily overpowered his foe at the sixth position, 6-0, 6-2. Fadul and Feder, though, were both defeated in close matches (10-8) in their tiebreak sets.
The Embry-Riddle Eagles, the fourth-ranked team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, proved to be too much to handle for the Billikens, as they swept all the singles and doubles matches to win, 9-0.
Gordon was the only player who really got close to his competition at the sixth singles position, but he ultimately fell 4-6, 2-6. Overall, the other teams played with more energy than the Bills, according to coach Jon Zych.
“We recovered and fought back in the Embry Riddle match, but it was a little too late,” Zych said in an online press release.
“In singles, we stayed with them, but the scores don’t really show that. We fought hard, but we weren’t able to get the result we wanted.”
The Billikens continued their 10-game road trip yesterday, suffering a 5-2 loss to No. 75 Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Ill.
The team returns to action Saturday against South Dakota State, in Kansas City, Mo.
