Tennis Suffers Setback at NJIT; Falls 6-1
3/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
NEWARK, N.J. - The Seton Hall tennis team had its two-match win streak snapped on Friday evening, dropping a 6-1 decision to NJIT.
With the win, the Highlanders extended their own winning streak to six matches.
Freshman Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) tallied the Pirates' only point of the day, outlasting NJIT neophyte Carolina Zanotta in a 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 #5 singles affair.
After falling behind a set, Shoemaker rebounded to take the second set and force the tiebreak. With the team result no longer in question, the freshman showed great determination in taking the tiebreak 10-7.
Shoemaker has now won three consecutive singles matches.
Fellow freshman Maria Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia) was entangled in a three-set duel of her own, playing in the number six slot against Highlanders' sophomore Martina Tripcovici.
After taking the first set, Rodriguez faltered in the second frame, falling 2-6. The Bogota native could not break through in the 10-point tiebreak, eventually suffering a 6-2, 2-6, 4-10 defeat.
All other Pirates competing in singles play fell in straight sets.
After the Highlanders had already secured the doubles point by virtue of wins in the number two and three slots, sophomores Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) and Chloe Sher (Shui Wai, Hong Kong) pulled out a victory in their #1 doubles matchup with Tripcovici and senior Nina Mayevska.
The pair of second year players jumped out to a 5-2 advantage, only to see their opponents from Newark draw even at 7-7, forcing another tiebreak.
The Highlanders rode their momentum to a 5-1 advantage in the decisive frame, but Portela and Sher rallied to score six unanswered points and take the match 8-7 (5).
The Hall returns to action this afternoon when they take on Providence College in their 2012 home opener. Start-time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
Seton Hall 1, NJIT 6
Singles
1. Ksenia Kuzmenko (NJIT) def. Chloe Sher (SHU) 7-6, 6-3
2. Nina Mayevska (NJIT) def. Rocio Portela (SHU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Monika Graff (NJIT) def. Elizabeth Verow (SHU) 6-3, 7-5
4. Jana Luste (NJIT) def. Karina Cordero (SHU) 6-0, 6-2
5. Madison Shoemaker (SHU) def. Carolina Zanotta (NJIT) 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
6. Martina Tripcovici (NJIT) def. Maria Rodriguez (SHU) 2-6, 6-2, 10-4
Doubles
1. Sher/Portela (SHU) def. Tripcovici/Mayevska (NJIT) 8-7 (5)
2. Hannelore MacDonald/Kuzmenko (NJIT) def. Verow/Shoemaker (SHU) 8-2
3. Graff/Zanotta (NJIT) def. Rodriguez/Guryanova (SHU) 8-1
