By Kevin Hornibrook
Staff Writer
The College’s tennis teams both faced off against Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday, March 7, with the men facing their second loss and the women earning another victory.
For the women, an 8-1 win saw the Lions lose only two sets in the entire match. The match began with a sweep of the Diplomats doubles units as teams of sophomores Katrine Luddy and Liya Davidov and freshmen Charlotte Roarty and Jenny Landells both won their sets 8-1. Freshmen Alexa Vasile and Anusha Rangu followed with an 8-3 win.
Although not a sweep, the singles play was just as unbalanced. Davidov took down her opponent 6-0, 6-3. Roarty’s 6-0, 6-0 win gave the College the win. Franklin & Marshall’s lone point came from a 3-6, 6-4, 3-10 loss for Vasile. Pro set wins for sophomores Sarah Phung and Navya Yemula finalized the score at 8-1.
The win moves the Lions to a very impressive 10-0, with eight of their 10 victories being a result of 8-1 or 9-0 scores.
As for the men's team, they struggled early and lost two of three doubles matches. Sophomores Matthew Michibata and Justin Wain earned an 8-3 victory, but the senior team of Thomas Wright and Gokul Murugesan fell, 6-8. A 5-8 loss by freshmen Nick Matkiwsky and Akul Telluri gave their opponents the upper hand.
Meanwhile, Michibata’s 6-0, 6-1 win along with sophomore Nikola Kilibarda’s 6-0, 6-3 performance got the College to three points. Matkiwsky fell in a hard fought 7-5, 3-6, 5-7 match to close out the 3-6 loss.
While still ranked at no. 40, the loss to Franklin & Marshall puts the Lions at 3-2 on the season.
For the upcoming week, the women’s team will try to protect their perfect record against Wilmington University on Sunday, New York University on Friday and Moravian College on Saturday. The men will face off against Boucher College on Sunday, New York University on Friday and Stevens next Sunday.
