The women’s tennis team dominated the Division 1 Holy Cross Crusaders, 6-0, in their spring opening match last week.
With a strong performance from the start and a total of nine matches, there were three doubles and six singles, in which the Chargers were able to shut-out the Crusaders.
Freshman Agustina Ravera made an impressive start to the season.
“We spent a lot of time on the court to prepare for the season,” said Ravera. “This win brings confidence to the team and will fuel us to do amazing this season.”
The first pair of doubles included sophomore Valentina Ferrarini and junior Karim Carreras, who won their match 6-2. Then came graduate student Lucia Placidi and junior Risako Umekuni. The pair also won their match 6-2 and secured the win for New Haven. In the third doubles match, the Chargers fell 6-0 to the Crusaders.
In the singles matches, New Haven had an all-around victory. The first match of Ferrarini against Holy Cross’ Ahana Nagarkatti was ruled unfinished due to weather conditions. During the first set, Ferrarini lost 6-1 but was able to come back and win the second set with a score of 6-2. The third set had a tiebreaker of 6-6, though Ferrarini led the fourth set with a score of 6-5 before weather conditions worsened.
Competing in the second singles match, Carreras won the first set 6-3 and the second 6-1, which secured another win for the Chargers. In the third singles, Umekuni lost the first set, 7-5, won the second set, 6-1 and was able to win after going into a tiebreaker in the third set. Umekuni was able to secure the point with a final score of 10-5.
In the fourth singles, sophomore Alyssa Rodriguez won both sets against opponent Caroline Fredey with scores of 6-2 and 6-4. Placidi secured another point for New Haven in the fifth singles as she won the first set 6-2 and finished the match with a 10-2 tiebreaker.
Agustina Ravera dominated the sixth singles with a complete sweep. Against Holy Cross’ Katie Nossa, Ravera won both sets 6-0.
“For myself, I would like to hopefully get higher in the lineup, but I am happy where I am,” said Ravera. “As for the team, I can tell this season is going to be victorious, hopefully we can go all the way in the fall and make some more history.”
The Chargers win over the Crusaders leaves them at 9-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play for the 2023-24 season.
New Haven will take the court again on Thursday as they host Chestnut Hill. The first serve is scheduled for noon as the Chargers look to continue this strong start. For information, go to NewHavenChargers.com.