Seton Hall University
Providence
Tennis Tops Providence, 5-2
3/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Playing their second match in as many days, the Seton Hall tennis team powered past conference rival Providence College, earning a split from the two-match trip to Syracuse with a 5-2 victory on Sunday.
The win was the first of the spring season for SHU (4-8, 1-1) in BIG EAST play and their third in the last four matches overall.
As they had in all three of their previous victories in 2013, the Pirates started the match by capturing a crucial point from doubles competition, winning two out of three matches in dramatic fashion.
Anna Guryanova (Moscow, Russia) and Alex Landert (Naples, Fla.) gave The Hall an early advantage, dropping only two games in their #3 doubles showdown with PC’s Karen Ramirez and Hannah Zangari en route to their third victory in four appearances.
The Friars secured a win in a tightly contested match at #2, leaving the point to be decided from the top position.
Looking to get back on track after having their five-match winning streak snapped the day before, juniors Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) and Chloe Sher (Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong) squared off with the Friars’ #1 pair of Marisela Aviles-Duron and Maria Clara Bernardez for the second time in 2012-13.
Portela and Sher cruised to an 8-2 win against their opponents from Providence at the USTA Collegiate Invitational in the fall, but Sunday’s match would prove a much tougher test. Through 16 games, the teams stood deadlocked but the Pirates’ all-time winningest doubles duo found the closing touch in the tiebreak and emerged with a 9-8 (6) win to put the doubles point on the board for Seton Hall.
Alana Prinos evened the team match score for Providence with a 6-2, 6-4 result over Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) at #3 once singles play began, but the Pirates responded with a run of victories to secure their fifth straight win over the Friars.
Maria Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia) put SHU back on top with her fourth victory in the last six matches, controlling the action against Ramirez in a 6-3, 6-2 win from the fifth slot. Rodriguez now ranks second on the team with 16 combined victories to her name in 2012-13 and is tied with Shoemaker for second on the squad with six wins in dual match play.
Inserted in the second slot for the second time this weekend, the first two times of her career; freshman Julia Keenan (Greenland, N.H.) stepped up in a big way for a SHU team limited by injuries as she outlasted the junior Bernardez in a 7-5, 7-5 affair, putting the Pirates on the precipice of their first league win of the year.
The remaining three matches all went the distance, but the first to be completed was at the #6 position as Guryanova bounced back from a first set loss against Zangari to take the next two in convincing fashion, clinching the match by prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The sophomore from Moscow improved to 11-5 on the year with the result and has come out on top in two-of-three dual match appearances.
Filling in for the injured Sher and sliding up to the #1 position for the fifth time in her career, Portela jumped out to a one-set lead over Aviles-Duron but was edged in the next two, falling just short against PC’s all-time #1 singles wins leader.
With the match result firmly in hand, senior captain Karina Cordero (Maracay Estado Aragua, Venezuela) fought her way to her fourth dual match win of the season, edging Taylor Corder 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to account for the final score line. It was also her second victory three-set of the season over Corder after bouncing the Providence sophomore from the quarterfinals of the Quinnipiac Invitational B flight in September.
The Pirates will return home for their first home match of the spring as they welcome Georgetown to New Jersey on Thursday, March 28. Start-time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
Seton Hall 5, Providence 2
Doubles
1. Rocio Portela/Chloe Sher (SHU) def. Marisela Aviles-Duron/Maria Clara Bernardez (PC), 9-8 (6)
2. Taylor Corder/Alana Prinos (PC) def. Julia Keenan/Madison Shoemaker (SHU), 8-6
3. Anna Guryanova/Alex Landert (SHU) def. Karen Ramirez/Hannah Zangari (PC), 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Marisela Aviles-Duron (PC) def. Rocio Portela (SHU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
2. Julia Keenan (SHU) def. Maria Clara Bernardez (PC), 7-5, 7-5
3. Alana Prinos (PC) def. Madison Shoemaker (SHU), 6-2, 6-4
4. Karina Cordero (SHU) def. Taylor Corder (PC), 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
5. Maria Rodriguez (SHU) def. Karen Ramirez (PC), 6-3, 6-2
6. Anna Guryanova (SHU) def. Hannah Zangari (PC), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 2, 6, 1, 4
