The men’s tennis team continued their challenging early season schedule with a Feb. 11 loss to Miami, dropping their record to 1-3. The women’s tennis team had their undefeated record spoiled by Drexel on Feb. 9, but bounced back with a shutout victory over Wagner on Feb. 10, moving their record to 4-1 overall.

On the men’s side, the Miami Hurricanes provided a tough matchup for the Bison. Daniel Wright ’18 fought hard on court one and almost forced a third set, but fell just short in the second set 4-6.

“Overall our energy level was high and we competed well. The key for us moving forward is to keep putting the work in and to more effectively take advantage of our opportunities,” Wright said.

Andrei Vitiuc ’19 and Max Kane ’18 were both defeated by nationally ranked players on courts two and three, respectively. The Orange and Blue will look to bounce back when they play St. Francis, Butler, Cleveland State, and Youngstown State with four matches in three days from Feb. 16-18.

“From match to match we are gradually finding our best tennis in time to peak when we need to. Definitely a rough start playing North Carolina or Miami but looking at the bigger picture, having the chance to battle against teams like this opponents like Army or Navy won’t look that scary anymore,” Vitiuc said.

Women’s tennis went 1-1 on the weekend with a loss to Drexel and a 7-0 win against Wagner. At Drexel on Feb. 9, Paige Leavy ’20 and Lisa Jouravlevla ’18 defeated two Drexel players that had been undefeated this season on double’s court one. Leavy and Jouravlevla have won back-to-back matches on court one for the Orange and Blue, but their victory was not enough to give the Bison the spark they needed against a talented Drexel team.

The Bison then rallied for a 7-0 shutout victory against Wagner on Feb. 10. Jouravlevla, who is in the running for Patriot League Player of the Year, dominated on court one with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Leavy pulled out a win on court two with 6-3, 6-2 match. Mishi Papich ’19 and Schuyler La Barge ’21 both won on courts three and five, respectively. Cayla Koch ’21 and Sofia Ayuso ’21 both added to their season victory totals on courts four and six. Danielle Gannon ’19 and Jill Auteri ’20 clinched a thrilling 7-6 victory on doubles court three to secure the clean sweep for the Bison.

“I am super proud of the way the team played this weekend. We are definitely playing freely and confidently and it shows in our results,” Auteri said.

For the women, the Orange and Blue hit the road to play St. Francis on Feb. 16 and Youngstown State on Feb. 17, and will look to improve on their winning start to the season.