ORANGEBURG, NY – Three hundred sixty-seven days between matches is certainly an oddity in collegiate tennis, but the St. Thomas Aquinas College women’s tennis team ended the matchless streak on Saturday with a 7-0 win over regionally-ranked opponent University of New Haven. At Match Point Tennis Club, the contest pitted two teams who were tied for tenth overall in last year’s Oracle/ITA poll, and promised to be an intense showing from two tough East Region squads.
After a brisk warmup period, the foes squared off in the doubles portion of the slate. Wins at third and second doubles, respectively, gave the Spartans the doubles point and an early 1-0 lead. First doubles showcased two of the toughest pairings in the region trading a barrage of fast-paced points. The teams traded games until they were tied at 6-all, where Ivana Andric and Stephanie Gonzalez of New Haven would win the tie break 8-6.
Singles action began after a brief intermission, with STAC riding the doubles momentum with straight set victories at all six singles matches. Viktoriia Pavlovets (St. Petersburg, Russia) made it 2-0 in favor of the Spartans with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at second singles. With nearly a 70% first serve percentage, Pavlovets put tremendous pressure on her opponent from the start of the match, and never relinquished control.
Jemima Parkinson (Gloucester, United Kingdom) would make it 3-0 for STAC with a 6-1, 6-4 win at fourth singles by virtue of her precision footwork, outmaneuvering her opponent on court to create opportunities to uncork winners. The clinching point came from Eliza Mulder (Schoonhoven, Netherlands) at sixth singles. The sophomore Dutchie won 6-1, 6-1 with a solid service game and heavy forehands.
Rounding out the scoring for the Spartans were Ayesha Burnett (Wellington, New Zealand), who improved her combined record at STAC to 23-6 with a 6-2, 6-3 win at fifth singles. Samanta Villegas (Leon, Mexico) took a 6-2, 6-1 win at third singles, pushing the advantage to 6-0 for the hosts.
At first singles, Karina Blas (Tarnow, Poland) outlasted Andric 6-4, 6-3 in a marathon of a match that lasted two and half hours. The match was decided by less than ten total points and could have easily gone for the visitor.
The win marked the first for the Spartans over New Haven since at least 2017, with the Chargers having won the previous three matchups. Next up for STAC is a meeting between East Coast Conference foes Daemen College and D’Youville College.
-/T-10 St. Thomas Aquinas 7, -/T-10 New Haven 0
Doubles
1. Ivana Andric/Stefanie Gonzalez (UNH) def. Karina Blas/Samanta Villegas (STAC), 7-6 (6)
2. Jemima Parkinson/Ayesha Burnett (STAC) def. Nicole Mika/Anna Katz (UNH), 6-3
3. Viktoriia Pavlovets/Eliza Mulder (STAC) def. Lilia Rodriguez/Kacie Banks (UNH), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2*, 1
Singles
1. Karina Blas (STAC) def. Ivana Andric (UNH), 6-4, 6-3
2. Viktoriia Pavlovets (STAC) def. Stephanie Gonzalez (UNH), 6-2, 6-2
3. Samanta Villegas (STAC) def. Kacie Banks (UNH), 6-2, 6-1
4. Jemima Parkinson (STAC) def. Nicole Mika (UNH), 6-1, 6-4
5. Ayesha Burnett (STAC) def. Lilia Rodriguez (UNH), 6-2, 6-3
6. Eliza Mulder (STAC) def. Anna Katz (UNH), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6*, 5, 3, 1
-/T-10 STAC – 1-0 (0-0 ECC)
-/T-10 UNH – 0-1 (0-0 NE10)