By Gigi Speer

Over the weekend, Fordham Women’s Tennis played and won two matches at the Hawthorn/Rooney Courts. The Rams blanked Siena 4-0 on Saturday and dominated Atlantic 10 conference foe Rhode Island 5-2 on Sunday as the church bells rang.

Saturday’s sweep also came with the added sweetness of it being on Senior Day, as Tatiana Grigoryan, Gianna Insogna, Whitney Weisberg and Alexis Zobeideh commemorated their final season and geared up to play their last matches with the team.

Grigoryan is happy with her career thus far, yet is sad to see it come to an end: “It is definitely bittersweet,” she says. “While I am ready for the next phase of my life, I realize it is probably the end of my competitive tennis career. I will miss the entire team, coaches and the overall competitive environment. It is something that hasn’t really hit me yet but with Senior Day behind us, it is really starting to sink in.”

In addition to the sad emotions of the day, the Rams geared up and took down the saints, as Grigoryan teamed up with sophomore Arina Taluyenko to get a 7-5 win at first doubles, success continuing as senior doubles pair Zobeideh and Insogna won 6-3.

Reminiscing on her years on the courts at Fordham, Zobeideh states: “One of the most memorable matches was junior year when we beat Stony Brook. Everyone played really well and [junior] Maia [Balce] clinched the match after us being down 3-0, so it was definitely an exciting and nerve-wracking match cheering with my team which made it so fun.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, freshmen Genevieve Quenville and Nicole Li finalized the doubles wins with a victory of 7-5 in the third position.

This pattern continued into singles, where the Rams won all three singles matches: Balce 6-0, 6-2 in third singles, Insogna 6-1, 6-3 in the fourth position and senior Whitney Weisberg capping off the day with her sixth singles victory 6-1, 6-3.

The next morning, singles matches lead off the day against the URI Rams, with Taluyenko getting the first Fordham point in her 6-2, 6-1 first singles victory, followed by Li’s sixth spot win 6-4, 6-2 and Grigoryan’s second singles clutch 6-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.

Looking forward to the rest of the season leading to the A-10 Championships taking place in Orlando, Grigoryan is excited: “Going forward I feel good about my game, I think we have made a lot of progress as a team over the course of the season, so I feel confident going into the last part of the season both in my game and for overall team.”

To cap off the singles point, Quenville posted an impressive 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win in the third spot, before the team went on to win two of the three doubles matches as Taluyenko and Grigoryan won first doubles and Li and Queenville took the third spot.

A successful weekend for seniors and freshmen alike, Zobeideh looks forward to finishing her college career: “I’m excited to have a few more matches playing with my team. I think I’m going to miss my teammates and the experience with them rather than individual matches.”

The Rams are back in action home this Thursday at 1:00 p.m. as they take on Stony Brook.

Tatiana Grigoryan was one of the stars for Fordham Women’s Tennis this weekend. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)