Playing on the newly-renovated University of Rhode Island Tennis Complex for the first time in over a year, the URI women’s tennis team hosted four other schools at the URI Fall Invite on Sunday.
Sunday’s action saw Rhode Island pick up 11 wins from 16 total singles matches, with each of the seven competing team members picking up at least one win. Three of the host’s four doubles teams also came away with the win, marking a successful start to their home slate under newly-named head coach Jonas Brobeck.
“[We’re] very excited about this weekend,” Brobeck said. “It’s all process, it’s all growth mindset this fall, it’s all about developing and getting better. The girls have been so bought into that…it was fun to watch them compete this weekend because it felt like we were the most energized and unified team.”
Second-years Priyanka Shanker, Sophie Herrman and Ava Grnja all highlighted the scoresheet, going undefeated in singles play with a pair of wins each. Shanker allowed only four total games across four sets in her matches, coming away with a pair of 6-1, 6-1 wins against Stonehill College’s Jenna Gustafson and Providence College’s Elisa Davalos. She also teamed up with first-year Blake Rothchild in doubles play to pick up one of the team’s three wins.
Grnja shared similar success on the singles court, not allowing a single game out of her opponent in a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Stonehill’s Linsday MacDonald before coming away with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Quinnipiac’s Ella Lewis.
As for Herrman, she began her singles slate with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Providence’s Hiba El Khalifi before coming back from a set down against Bryant University’s Natalia Vela to force a tiebreak, which she eventually won 3-6, 6-3, 10-7. She saw Vela once again on the doubles court, pairing with fourth-year Valentina Cvackova to Vela and Bryant’s Caitlyn Muson 6-4.
“I always think it’s important to start the year on a good note and be as positive as you can with it,” Herrman said. “I’m really excited about how this weekend went.”
For Herrman, who earned a spot on the 2023 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team and an A-10 Rookie of the Week honor in her debut collegiate season last year, the competition marked the first time she was able to play on her home courts following the lengthy renovations.
“It was a really amazing experience, not only because we were able to be on the home courts that we practice on, but also because we were able to have a few more supporters come out because people didn’t have to drive all the way to Newport,” Herrman said. “It was a really great experience to actually play a home match that was on campus and be able to experience the atmosphere.”
Rhode Island’s third doubles win came from the pairing of second-year Nikki Fernando and fifth-year Nadia Rajan, who defeated Stonehill’s Julie Holte and Anneliese Beltran 6-3.
Both players would go on to split their singles matches, picking up a win each. Fernando began her day on the singles court with a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win over Munson, before falling to Qunnipiac’s Caitlin Flowers in a tight deciding tiebreak after dropping a tight first-set tiebreak (6-7 (6), 6-3, 11-9). As for Rajan, she also fell in a tiebreak after splitting a pair of lopsided sets with Stonehill’s Julie Holte (0-6, 6-1, 11-9), before defeating Providence’s Lauren Carson 6-4, 6-3.
Both Cvackova and first-year Steph Hylton split a pair of tight matches that required tiebreaks to give Rhode Island a pair of wins, while Rothchild also played to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Davalos to round out the scoresheet.
“We have a lot of talent, the girls are great kids and great student-athletes, we just need to work on a lot of those small little things,” Brobeck said. “There were still shot selections and decision-making that was not great, but we can’t expect them to be great in the second tournament. It was key this weekend that we got a lot of quality matches in, leading into a great and tough tournament this weekend at Harvard.”
Next up, the Rams will travel to Harvard on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to compete in the International Tennis Association Regionals.