Photo courtesy of goxavier.com | Senior Lauren Ghidotti aided the Musketeers in their 4-3 victory over the Penn Quakers winning her doubles match with Sophia Abelson, 6-3.
This past weekend the Xavier women’s tennis team traveled to the East Coast for a pair of matches against two Ivy League foes. Facing off against Princeton and Penn, the team knew that it would be up against stiff competition the entire weekend.
The matchups began in Princeton, N.J., when Xavier faced the Princeton Tigers. Despite strong and competitive efforts, the women lost the match by a score of 7-0.
“We have to give Princeton a lot of credit today,” head coach Doug Matthews said after the match. “We had them on ropes in doubles, and we just didn’t finish.”
Both freshman Ahmeir Kyle and senior Lauren Ghidotti lost their singles matches to opponents ranked in the ITA Top 100.
Sophomore Rachel Reichenbach was able to take her opponent to a tie breaker but eventually lost 7-6. The team also faced a tough opposition in doubles that left them winless on the day.
On Sunday, however, the team came back with a great fight against the Pennsylvania Quakers.
By a score of 4-3, the women’s team was able to secure a win in Philadelphia.
Matthews was ecstatic about the win following the match.
“This is a big program win,” he said. “Penn is a great team, and the Ivy League is a power tennis conference.”
In singles, the Musketeers were driven by strong wins from junior Sophia Abelson (6-1, 6-1), senior Elizabeth Bagerbaseh (6-4, 6-0) and sophomore Lauren Fitz-Randolph (6-2, 6-3).
The Musketeers used this momentum to also win a few doubles matches. Ghidotti and Abelson beat their opponents by a score of 6-3. Junior Zoe Manion and Bagerbaseh also got the Musketeers a huge win.
The team will look to continue growing this Friday at home against Big East opponent Georgetown.
By: Colin Cooper ~Staff Writer~