Despite giving up the doubles point to Loyola this past weekend, Women’s Tennis was able to clinch four out of six singles games to secure the match and win their final regular season game.
Heading into the weekend, Mirra Manolov ’26 emphasized the confidence the team had and the work they had put in.
“The team felt really great going into the weekend. We have such a strong team camaraderie and everyone is so excited to be out there which makes the experience going into it so much fun,” Manolov said. “We have been practicing a good amount. We do a lot of drills that help us out with a particular team that we are playing that weekend and making sure we implement the strategies that we need to.”
Starting with the doubles matches, Loyola grabbed the number two match 6-0, and took the number three match 6-4, stealing the doubles point to put them up 1-0 heading into singles play.
In the number one singles match, Whitney King ’25 grabbed the first singles point for the Orange and Blue, swiftly winning 6-0, 6-2 to put the Bison on the board. Next up in the number three singles match, Abby Platt ’26 followed King’s lead, with a 6-2, 6-3 win to put the Bison up 2-1.
In the number two singles match, the Bison fell to Loyola, tying up the game 2-2. Tori Allen ’27 was able to steal the lead back with a 6-3, 6-4 win on court five. However, that lead did not last long as the Greyhounds secured a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win on court four, setting a stressful scene for Manolov on court six.
With the game tied at 3-3, there was a lot resting on Manolov’s shoulders, and she was able to perform successfully under pressure.
“I definitely felt the pressure once I was aware that the overall score was 3-3 and my match was the deciding factor,” said Manolov. “I took a lot of deep breaths and tried to play smart but aggressive tennis. The energy was really high and that helped with my mindset throughout the match.”
Despite losing the first set, Manolov came back to 6-3 in the second set and 6-4 in the third, winning her match and the game for the Bison.
Next up, Women’s Tennis takes on #2 seeded Navy in Annapolis for the Patriot League Championship quarterfinals.
