By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

Despite a rocky start at the Cornell Invitational this past weekend, the women’s tennis team remains confident as it heads into spring duals tied for second in the preseason poll.

The Orange and Blue played against Army, Cornell and Binghamton to kick off the season. Lauren Lucido ’11 was the sole winner for the Bison on Friday, winning in straight sets to advance to the main draw in Flight A singles. Lucido has now won four consecutive singles matches since the women’s last showing at the Bucknell Invitational in October.

Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Lucido paired for the first time in Flight A doubles in a tough match against Binghamton on Friday. The pair played well and kept the match close but were unable to pull out the win, falling 9-7. With tough losses the first day, the Orange and Blue were able to see what aspects of their game needed work in preparing for the upcoming season.

“We played against three other good teams, and we got a handful of matches under our belt,” Lucido said. “We definitely have some things to work on as the season advances, but I think it was a good opportunity to get back into matchplay mode before we play our dual matches.”

Despite tough losses on Friday, the Orange and Blue were able to end on a positive note, winning two matches in the consolation round of the Flight B singles. Courtney Casey ’12 came out strong against the Army competition, winning the first set 6-2. After losing the second set 2-6, Casey fought back to win in the deciding tiebreak 10-7. Lauren Rottkamp ’11 also earned a victory for the Bison, defeating her Binghamton opponent 6-3, 7-5.

“We definitely have a lot of work to do, but the more matches we play the better our performance will become,” Rottkamp said.

The Bison will be back on the court at Pittsburgh today and at Duquesne tomorrow.