The women’s tennis team claimed two victories and suffered two hard-fought defeats. On March 27, the Bison earned a solid 6-1 road victory over Mount St. Mary’s. After a close 4-3 home loss to Navy on March 30, the team rebounded with a 7-0 triumph at Villanova on April 1, only to fall 5-2 on April 2 in a difficult matchup at Towson.

In play against Mount St. Mary’s, the Bison seized all three doubles matches. At No. 1 doubles, Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Maria Cioffi ’16 earned an 8-3 victory, Lydia Colvin ’15 and Michele Urbinati ’17 defeated their opponents 8-2, and at No. 3 Stephanie Pino ’16 and Alyssa McAndrew ’15 won 8-3.

The positive energy from doubles continued into singles matches, as Mount St. Mary’s only managed one win in the No. 1 singles. At No. 2 singles Cioffi defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-1 in a sweeping victory. At No. 3, Colvin battled to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win. Urbinati and Pino won their matches at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, and Jorie Fox ’17 also defeated Mount St. Mary’s 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 singles. 

On March 30, the Bison hosted Navy at the West Branch Tennis Club in Williamsport, Pa. for their second Patriot League match. Colvin and Urbinati dominated their Navy doubles opponents 8-1 at the No. 2 spot, but lost at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, losing the doubles point.

“Michele and I had really good energy and stayed focused the entire match,” Colvin said. “We had really positive attitudes and didn’t let up on the Navy girls for a second, which was the key to beating a team with a really good fight.”

Cioffi took a 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles. Pino earned a hard fought 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (11-9) win at No. 5 singles and Fox also battled for a 2-6, 7-6, 1-0 (13-11) win at No. 6 singles. Despite valiant efforts, the Orange and Blue were not able to clinch wins at No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4 singles.

Five out of the six singles matches went into three sets against Villanova, testing the Bison’s endurance as well as performance under pressure. The entire team pulled through for a sweep, improving the team’s Patriot League record to 1-1. 

“We swept Villanova and showed our resiliency that we have been working on all semester,” Colvin said. “It was awesome that we all were able to fight hard and come out with wins.”

The team of Vidrascu and Cioffi took an 8-6 victory at No. 1 doubles. Colvin and Urbinati also won 8-6 at No. 2 doubles, and the team of Pino and Melissa Parks ’17 won 8-6 as well at No. 3 doubles.

Cioffi was the only player to win her singles match in straight sets taking a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Villanova. Vidrascu, Colvin, Urbinati, and Parks all took their second victories of the day at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6 singles respectively. Fox also won 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at the No. 5 singles spot.

On April 2, the Bison headed to Towson. They put forth a lot of energy, but lost 5-2. The two wins came from Vidrascu at No. 1 singles (6-2, 2-6, 6-2) and Cioffi at No. 2 singles (6-0, 6-1).

“Sometimes you really need to be willing to change your game strategy around in order to win,” Vidrascu said. “That means stepping out of what you’re comfortable with and being flexible. Even if you’re down in the match and nothing seems to be working, there is always a way. Everyone has a weakness in their game, and all it takes is complete focus and determination to win.”

The Bison will bring that focus against Patriot League rival Colgate at 1 p.m. tomorrow at home.