The Bison tennis teams had a clean sweep against La Salle on Feb. 3, with the women’s team defeating the Explorers 7-0 and the men’s team finishing the matchup with a 5-2 win.

The women’s team has put together their best opening record since 2005. After their Feb. 3 match, they are now 3-0 in the season. Lisa Jouravleva ’18 had an easy win on court one with 6-1 and 6-4 set victories. She is now tied for 12th place for the University’s most career singles wins, with 54 in total, and was named Patriot League Tennis Player of the Week. Jouravleva, Paige Leavy ’20, Schuyler La Barge ’21 and Mishi Papich ’19 all remain individually undefeated this season, each with a 3-0 record. Maddie Melch ’18 remains undefeated at 2-0.

“Overall, the team has been working really hard to get to where we are and we came in with a totally fresh mentality this year,” Jouravleva said. “We’re all extremely supportive of each other, which is bringing positive vibes to every match we play. The support we show each other radiates through all six courts, which is what’s helping us maintain our undefeated record.”

“We are all working together and really putting in the work day in and day out and it’s paying off. We all have one goal this season and that’s some shiny rings, and we aren’t going to stop until we get them,” Leavy said.

La Barge, the only player who competed in a three set match, lost her first set 1-6 but came back in her final sets at 6-0 and 6-3 to keep her undefeated record. Sofia Ayuso ’21 made her Bison spring debut and picked up her first career win on court six with 6-4 and 6-0 wins.

“Our team played very strong and everyone had good attitudes and high energy,” Melch said.

The Orange and Blue improved their doubles record to 8-1 with three wins against La Salle. Jouravleva and Leavy teamed up on court one with an easy 6-1 win. Papich and Cayla Koch ’21 won on court two with a score of 6-1 and on court three La Barge and Ayuso won with a score of 6-3.

Men’s tennis took their first win of the season, 5-2 over La Salle. Despite missing singles player Dan Wright ’18, the Bison were able to readjust and pull out a win. Max McDonald ’19 played on court two for the first time in his career and won 6-0 and 6-1. McDonald’s win put the Bison in at 2-0 overall and Ben Gerber ’18 added a win to that total on court three with a 6-1, 7-5 match. Just as La Salle began to come back, Colin Sacco ’20 ended their rally with a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Max Garramone ’21 finished just after Sacco with a 6-3, 6-2 score.

“I thought the team played great this past weekend; we were without our best player and didn’t miss a beat,” Sacco said.

Men’s doubles dominated the court, as well. Max Kane ’18 and Timber Erskine ’18 pulled out a win on court one 6-3. Drew Krantz ’21 and Gerber shut out their opponents on court two and teammates Sacco and Adrien Crastes ’21 defeated their competitors on court three.

“The doubles teams played well and got our team off to the start we needed, and our singles players fought hard to clinch the win,” Krantz said.

The women’s team will look to continue their strong start on Feb. 9 at Drexel. For the men, the Orange and Blue will take on the University of Miami Hurricanes on Feb. 11.