WASHINGTON, DC – The St. Thomas Aquinas College closed out their regular season with a road conference win against the University of the District of Columbia on Thursday, leaving the District with a 5-4 win.  The victory was the first over UDC since the 2010-11 season, and also gave STAC four conference wins, setting a new record for the program.

            Nyenyeri Kanefu ’18 (Rutherford, NJ) and Cassandra Rohr ’21 (Mallorca, Spain) gave the Lady Spartans a 2-1 lead coming out of the doubles slate.  Up 7-2, the second doubles duo looked to be on shaky ground before finding their footing to close out their match 8-6.  Rohr was also the first to finish her singles match, winning with relative ease at second singles 6-2, 6-3, to keep her record unblemished for the week.

            With the Spartans holding a 4-3 lead, freshman Lovisa Engstrand ’21 (Stockholm, Sweden) won the decisive point for the visitors in her typical, grind-it-out style.  Down 5-0 in the first set, Engstrand would win seven consecutive games to stun her opponent, 7-5.  The freshman Swede would make it eight straight games, taking a 1-0 lead in the second set before ultimately winning 6-3 while winning her tenth consecutive singles match.

            The Lady Spartans are currently third in the conference standings, and will await the results of this weekend’s East Coast Conference matches before finding out if they make the conference tournament.  With many scenarios still in play, the Lady Spartans could finish anywhere from a tie for second place all the way down to fifth.

St. Thomas Aquinas 5, University of the District of Columbia 4

Doubles

1.     Hadnadova/Danylova (UDC) def. Engstrand/O’Brien (STAC), 8-5

2.     Kanefu/Rohr (STAC) def. Castrillon/Clercx (UDC), 8-6

3.     Lopez/Kopf (STAC) def. No Player/No Player (UDC), Default

Singles

1.     Dominika Hadnadova (UDC) def. Nyenyeri Kanefu (STAC), 6-2, 6-4

2.     Cassandra Rohr (STAC) def. Anastasia Khomyachenko (UDC), 6-2, 6-3

3.     Lovisa Engstrand (STAC) def. Anastasiia Danylova (UDC), 7-5, 6-3

4.     Estefani Castrillon (UDC) def. Katarina Lopez (STAC), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4

5.     Florence Clercx (UDC) def. Sara O’brien (STAC), 6-1, 6-3

6.     Carolyn Kopf (STAC) def. No Player (UDC), Default

Order of Finish:           Doubles (3d, 1, 2)       Singles (6d, 2, 5, 1, 3*, 4)

St. Thomas Aquinas 7-8 (4-3 ECC)

University of the District of Columbia 4-5 (4-3 ECC)