With a five-game winning streak on their hands, the Fordham women’s tennis team continued their tear by notching their sixth consecutive win on Friday, March 3. Returning to West Point after two wins against Army and St. Bonaventure, the Rams recorded their second sweep of the season against Southeastern Louisiana University 7-0 at the Lichtenberg Tennis Center. Their first sweep came against Hofstra University.
The Rams took the doubles point once again, as the duo of sophomore Carina Ma and junior Estelle Wong started off with a victory over Dalina Dahlmans and Fleur Holtkamp 7-6 (5). Freshman Maia Balce and sophomore Gianna Insogna continued with a victory against Dani Raygadas and Madina Vorotnikova 6-3, and the pair of senior Mayu Sato and sophomore Alexis Zobeideh defeated Lucia Bustamonte and Natalie Duran 6-2.
In singles play, the Rams continued their dominance with yet another shutout. Ma started the blowout with an easy victory over Dani Raygadas 6-2, 6-1. Fresh off an A-10 Player of the Week honor, Wong added to her recent success with a win against Fleur Holtkamp 6-0, 6-1. Sato pulled out a tough three-set victory against Lucia Bustamonte 5-7, 6-2, 10-5, while Balce defeated Madina Vorotnikova 6-2, 6-3. Insogna came out on top in a back-and-forth three sets againts Dalina Dahlmans 6-2, 0-6, 6-2, and senior Destiny Grunin came from behind to cap off Fordham’s success by defeating Natalie Duran 2-6, 7-5, 10-5.
Head coach Bette-Ann Liguori is beyond satisfied with her team’s winning streak, once again pointing out the importance of momentum. “I believe that it helped to contribute to our wins. It is giving us great confidence and hopefully will continue to be a strong influence in our conference play and ultimately the A10 championships,” she said.
When asked about how this compared to the team’s shutout of Hofstra, Liguori said, “We obviously beat both of them with the same score, but I believe that [this win against] SLU is a more substantial win. Beating any team that doesn’t have to worry about indoor play and practice is a better win for us. Our indoor practice play is less than desirable because we waste an hour for travel. When you beat a southern school with outdoor practice courts, it’s a bigger win than beating Hofstra, as they are limited to indoor, off-campus practice, which is similar to our situation.”
The Rams return to action March 13 as they face off against LIY Brooklyn in Orlando, Florida.
