PHILADELPHIA, PA – The St. Thomas Aquinas College women’s tennis team defeated regional opponent University of the Sciences on Thursday with a score of 5-4. The win marked a reversal of fortunes for the Lady Spartans, who had previously lost five matches by that 5-4 mark.
Freshman Cassandra Rohr ’21 (Mallorca, Spain) continued her stellar play, besting Karla Miletic in the first flight 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (12-10). Miletic was ranked the #2 player in the region at this year’s ITA East Region tournament. Fellow fresman Lovisa Engstrand ’21 (Stockholm, Sweden) won her fifth singles match in a row, besting her opponent 6-2, 6-2 in the second slot.
With the Lady Spartans down 3-2, Sara O’Brien ’18 (Orangeburg, NY) won her fifth singles match to quickly even the score at 3-3. Rohr’s win at first singles gave STAC a 4-3 lead, while Carolyn Kopf ’18 (Garnerville, NY) clinched the match at sixth singles with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph. Kopf also teamed with Katarina Lopez ’20 (New City, NY) to get the Lady Spartans on the board with an 8-2 third flight doubles win. After losing her first set in singles, Lopez battled back to force a third set tiebreaker, only to fall 10-6.
St. Thomas Aquinas is next in action on Tuesday, October 10 as they host regional foe Concordia College.
St. Thomas Aquinas 5, USciences 4
Doubles
1. Miletic/Gamarnik (USCI) def. Engstrand/O’Brien (STAC), 8-6
2. Paran/Linder (USCI) def. Rohr/Kanefu (STAC), 8-2
3. Lopez/Kopf (STAC) def. Serrano/Le (USCI), 8-2
Singles
1. Cassandra Rohr (STAC) def. Karla Miletic (USCI), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (12-10)
2. Lovisa Engstrand (STAC) def. Danielle Paran (USCI), 6-2, 6-2
3. Elkanah Linder (USCI) def. Nyenyeri Kanefu (STAC), 6-2, 6-1
4. Abby Gamarnik (USCI) def. Katarina Lopez (STAC), 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Sara O’Brien (STAC) def. Julia James (USCI), 6-0, 6-1
6. Carolyn Kopf (STAC) def. Han Le (USCI), 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles: 3, 2, 1 Singles: 2, 3, 5, 1, 6*, 4
St. Thomas Aquinas: 3-7
USciences: 3-4