Seton Hall University
Fairleigh Dickinson
Tennis Edged By FDU in Dual Match
10/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Tuesday afternoon featured the only dual match of the fall season for the Seton Hall tennis team as the Pirates went head-to-head with perennial NEC power Fairleigh Dickinson.
The teams split six singles matches on the day, but FDU came out on top in two out of three doubles matchup to squeak out a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
SHU’s top player, Chloe Sher (Tin Shu Wai, Hong Kong), fell in an early hole in her singles matchup with Anna Rapoport, but battled back to register an impressive victory. Rapoport, the #110 ranked player in the nation, jumped out to a one set advantage after winning the first six games of the match. Sher rebounded to take the second set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (6). In the decisive frame, Sher trumped Rapoport and took the match, 0-6, 7-6 (6), 10-3.
Freshman Julia Keenan (Greenland, N.H.) also picked up a singles point for The Hall, avenging the only loss to this point in her college career. Up against Egzona Morina for the second time in 10 days, Keenan made easy work of the FDU senior and registered a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win from the number three slot.
Keenan is now 10-1 through her first 11 collegiate singles matches and stands as the team leader in wins.
Keenan’s doubles partner Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) also picked up an individual victory during the match. Penciled in at the number six position, Shoemaker swept junior Manuela Leme, taking a straight-set (6-3, 6-2) win.
Keenan and Shoemaker also paired to pick up their fourth doubles win in their last five appearances, outdueling Morina and Celine Maier in an 8-6 affair. With the victory, Keenan and Shoemaker matched Sher and Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) for the most wins by a Pirates doubles tandem this fall.
Despite Keenan/Shoemaker coming out on top in the number two slot, SHU eventually lost the doubles point. Sher and Portela fell to Rapoport and Dina Guzairova, 3-8 at the first position while the team of Karina Cordero (Maracay Estado Aragua, Venezuela) and Alex Landert (Naples, Fla.) came up short against Leme and Nicole Chis in #3 doubles (4-8).
Fairleigh Dickinson went on to earn three singles points of their own to take the match by a slim margin. Landert and Cordero were defeated in straight sets while Portela was forced to retire down a set in the second frame.
The fall season will continue for four Pirates when they travel to West Point, N.Y. to take part in the ITA Northeast Regional Tournament later this week. Sher and Portela will participate in both singles and doubles competition while Keenan and Shoemaker received a berth into the doubles bracket. Play at the three-day tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday, Oct. 19.
Seton Hall 3, Fairleigh Dickinson 4
Singles
1. Chloe Sher (SHU) def. Anna Rapoport (FDU), 0-6, 7-6 (6), 10-3
2. Dina Guzairova (FDU) def. Rocio Portela (SHU), 7-5, 3-0 (ret.)
3. Julia Keenan (SHU) def. Egzona Morina (FDU), 6-1, 6-1
4. Celine Maier (FDU) def. Alex Landert (SHU), 6-0, 6-3
5. Nicole Chis (FDU) def. Karina Cordero (SHU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Madison Shoemaker (SHU) def. Manuela Leme (FDU), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1. Guzairova/Rapoport (FDU) def. Portela/Sher (SHU), 8-3
2. Keenan/Shoemaker (SHU) def. Maier/Morina (FDU), 8-6
3. Chis/Leme (FDU) def. Cordero/Landert (SHU), 8-4
