Tennis downs Patriots, Dukes, falls to Tribe, Hokies in week of interstate matches

Mens and womens tennis won three of their five matches during the second week of April. The women’s team won over James Madison University and lost to the College of William & Mary. The men’s squad defeated George Mason University and William & Mary, but lost to Virginia Tech. The men’s record sits at 13-8, while the women’s team is 13-5.

Women v. W&M

The women dropped their Sunday match to an overwhelming William & Mary team, as the Tribe steamrolled to a 7-0 shutout victory. Freshman Paola Exposito Diaz Delgado and sophomore Noumea Witmus were tied in their doubles match, but William & Mary clinched the doubles points on the other two courts to nullify that result. Witmus won the second set in her singles match but fell in a tiebreaker as the Tribe swept VCU to shut out the Rams.

Women v. JMU

The Black and Gold added a victory to their record on Tuesday in Harrisonburg, as they shut out the Dukes in a dominating performance. Although the Dukes took home the victory in the first doubles match, the Rams negated that result by winning the remaining two doubles.

Delgado and Witmus recorded their ninth win of the season. The first-time pairing of junior Anna Rasmussen and freshman Marina Alcaide Bakkari also was victorious in doubles, while freshman Sofia Sualehe, along with Alcaide Bakkari, each swept their respective opponents in singles. Witmus closed the deal for the Black and Gold with a shutout of her opponent in the final match, sweeping them to claim a victory after just two sets of play.

Men v. VT

Virginia Tech proved to be the mens kryptonite as the week came to an end, as the Hokies nearly shut out the Black and Gold in Blacksburg. Junior Philip Mobius emerged with the sole victory for VCU, but junior Arvid Noren and freshman Inigo Torre Martin’s match went unfinished after Virginia Tech claimed victories on two other courts to secure those points. Tech swept a number of the matches they played against the Rams, with sophomore Ignacio Rivero Crespo winning the second set of his singles match but falling in the tiebreaker.

Men v. GMU

The men’s squad shut out George Mason on Friday, winning 4-0 in short order. Noren and Torre Martin claimed a 6-1 doubles victory at No. 2 and junior Vitor Lima and sophomore Javier Amantegui paired up to take home a No. 1 doubles win by a score of 6-3 that all but secured the match for the Black and Gold, clinching the point. Lima swept his opponent in his singles match, winning 6-1 and 6-1 to end the match before it could reach a third and deciding round. Crespo also won his fourth singles match in a row, and Amentegui clinched the day for the Rams with a two-set sweep of his opponent.

Men v. W&M

William & Mary proved to be a bit of a tougher challenge for the Black and Gold, as the Rams tacked on four set wins to the Tribe’s one. Lima and Amantegui got the Rams off on the right foot with a 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles, while Noren and Torre Martin clinched the doubles win for VCU. Amantegui, Torre Martin, and Noren all swept their singles matches, securing the overall victory for the Black and Gold.

Women’s tennis will next face the University of Richmond on Wednesday, while mens tennis has an upcoming match on Saturday against Washington and Lee University.

Adam Cheek, Staff Writer