The women’s tennis team dominated Niagara in Orchard Park, N.Y. on Feb. 27. Lauren Fishbein ’19, Mishi Papich ’19, and Stephanie Pino ’16 were all victorious in their singles matches, playing at the No. 3, 4, and 5 spots in the Bison’s lineup. Fishbein won with a score of 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), Papich continued the team’s success with a 6-3, 6-1 win, and Pino swept the court with a score of 6-0, 6-0. Madeline Melch ’18 also contributed with a win by default.

Along with the success of the singles matches, the No. 1 doubles pairing for the Orange and Blue, consisting of Maria Cioffi ’16 and Michele Urbinati ’17, won 7-5. This improves the pair’s record to 6-0 for the 2015-2016 season. At No. 2 doubles, Fishbein and Lisa Jouravleva ’18 won 6-4. With this fantastic playing, the Bison were able to improve their record to 2-1.

On Feb. 28, the Bison traveled to Olean, N.Y. to take down St. Bonaventure as they continued their winning streak. The Orange and Blue won with a score of 6-1, winning five singles matches and all three doubles matches. Cioffi edged out her opponent by winning the last set, 6-3, after splitting the first two sets. 

“It was obviously a tough match, but I felt like I had a lot of support from my teammates the entire time. Even though it’s rough being one of the last matches left on court, it’s encouraging to know that the rest of your team is cheering you on. It was especially helpful after losing my second set to have that added motivation because it’s easy to get discouraged and lose focus after splitting sets,” Cioffi said. “I also think doubles went well for us this weekend. All three doubles teams had close matches, especially Sunday, but we all managed to fight out wins. It’s always good to have that momentum going into singles play.” 

Jouravleva, Fishbein, Papich, and Pino all won their respective singles matches to contribute to the win for the Bison as well. The Orange and Blue continued their strong playing when Fishbein and Jouravleva won their doubles matches, along with Pino and Emilie Bush ’18. The doubles wins were rounded out by Cioffi and Urbinati.

The Bison will travel to Elkton, Md. on March 5 to take on Delaware.