The women’s tennis team shut out Lafayette 5-0 April 2 for its first conference match of the season.  The Bison continued their winning streak with a 7-0 shutout April 4 against Colgate.  The Bison’s April 7 match against Towson was canceled due to rain, and the April 8 match against Army was rescheduled for April 15.

“Although the spring weather makes it very difficult for our team to practice regularly and several matches have already been canceled, the team is working very hard and starting to play really solid tennis right now,” Head Coach Rebecca Helt said.

“My hope would be that we just continue this steady upward climb, and stay focused on the small things that will make us better,” Helt said.

Against Lafayette, Michele Urbinati ’17 and Lisa Jouravleva ’18 took an 8-0 victory in doubles, while Melissa Parks ’17 and Alyssa McAndrew ’15 took an 8-3 win. The Bison won all four of their singles matches, including wins from Jouravleva 6-1, 6-0 and Urbinati 6-1, 6-4. Madeline Melch ’18 had a 6-0, 6-0 shutout while Maria Cioffi ’16 took a 6-1, 6-2 No. 1 victory.

“It’s always difficult to play in the cold weather early in the spring, but we try to keep in mind that our opponents are battling the same conditions,” Cioffi said.

“We’ve done a good job of keeping that in mind, and that helps us focus on the task at hand when we get out there in a match. In the early spring, we are just trying to get our game together and work on some of our more problematic plays so that later in April, when we come up against Patriot League teams, we’ve worked everything out and know exactly how we’re going to play and what our strategy will be,” Cioffi said.

In singles play against Colgate, Urbinati took a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 4, and Jouravleva had a victorious 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 2. Cioffi clinched the win for the Bison with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at No. 1. The Orange and Blue also had victories from Parks at No. 6 and Melch at No. 5. In doubles play, Cioffi and Stephanie Pino ’16 were victorious with an 8-4 win, and Urbinati and Jouravleva took an 8-3 victory.

“We have worked hard all season and it is great to see the team come together with such exciting wins,” Pino said. “Every team member has contributed to the success of the team.”

The Bison have gone undefeated in their previous five matches, advancing to 2-0 in the conference and 6-9 overall. The Orange and Blue aim to continue its winning streak with two league matches at Loyola on April 11 and Navy on April 12.