LAKE NONA, Fla. (March 13, 2023) – The No. 29 Denison University women's tennis team started off its Spring Break trip to Florida with a rain delay filled 6-2 win against North Central College before returning to the court at the USTA National Campus to take down SUNY Oneonta by a final score of 5-0.
In the first match of the day against North Central, the two teams opted to play singles first and
Sofia Zafiropulos earned the first point of the day for Denison (6-2 overall) with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles.
The Big Red then went up 3-0 with wins of 6-4, 6-3 by
Caroline Lopez at No. 5 singles and 7-5, 6-1 by
Monique Brual at No. 3 singles.
However,
Sydney Cianciola and
Peyton Oda both dropped third-set super tiebreakers as the Cardinals cut their deficit to 3-2. Cianciola fell 0-6, 3-6, 1-0 (12-10) at No. 1 singles while Oda lost 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5) at No. 4 singles.
In the final singles match at the No. 2 spot,
Sarah Robertson came out on top in a third-set super tiebreaker of her own, winning 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 1-0 (10-6).
Then as the match switched to doubles, Denison got an 8-3 win from Brual and Lopez at in the No. 2 position, followed by an 8-2 win by
Kendall Schrader and Oda at No. 3 doubles.
It was the first loss of the season for North Central, which entered the match having yet to surrender more than two points in a match.
In the second match against SUNY Oneonta, Denison swept the doubles matches as
Hannah Quick and
Kennedy Herring won 8-1 in the No. 3 spot,
Elizabeth Hoo and
Anna Leach won 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, and
Alessandra Ceccarelli and
Caroline Kittle were victorious by a score of 8-2 in the top spot.
Then in singles, Ceccarelli won 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 5 spot and Herring won 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 6 spot to clinch the match.
On day two of its Spring Break trip on Tuesday, March 14, Denison will take on Coe College at 12 p.m. at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida, before returning to the USTA National Campus to battle No. 18 nationally-ranked Southwestern University at 6:30 p.m.
