Emily Evancho
Writer
The women’s tennis team battled through a shivering start to their season in Fairfax, Va. on March 22 with a 4-2 win over George Mason. Unfortunately, on the following day in Annapolis, Md. the Bison were unable to pull a repeat performance in their first Patriot League match, falling 7-0 to Navy. On March 27, the ladies hit the court again against Mount St. Mary’s, emerging with a 4-3 victory.
Abbreviated by the cold against George Mason, the Orange and Blue had a tricky task in singles play. Stephanie Pino ’16 was the first Bison to strike victory with a 6-3, 6-4 final score. Lydia Colvin ’15 followed Pino’s lead with her own 6-2, 7-6 win. Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 struggled in their matches, splitting sets and ending both their matches with super tie breakers. Cioffi and Vidrascu eventually came out on top with Cioffi securing the match’s decision in favor of the Orange and Blue with her 10-6 victory in her tiebreaker.
The next day’s match against Navy did not end in another victory for the Bison. Vidrascu and Cioffi once again played a key role in the match as the Bison’s only win of the day, an 8-7 triumph in the No. 1 doubles match. Navy took the lead in all singles matches and didn’t allow another Bison win. In singles play, the strongest performance was given by Colvin, who lost 7-5, 6-2 after almost taking the first set.
“We normally have really tight matches against Navy. Everyone played well in their matches but it didn’t come out in our favor. If we had to play them again though, I think we’d have a good chance,” Cioffi said.
The women’s tennis team swung back with a victory against Mount St. Mary’s. After falling behind 2-1, singles wins by Cioffi, Colvin and Pino gave the Bison a small 3-2 lead. As the temperatures on the cold day plummeted, the doubles matches got underway, with the match on the line. Victories by Pino/Colvin (8-1) and Jen Bush ’15/Sam Madnick ’16 (8-3) gave the doubles point and the match to the Bison.
The women’s tennis team will return to the court again on April 2, to play against St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia.
