The University or Rhode Island women’s tennis team extended their winning streak to nine straight matches, besting Georgetown University, Mount St. Mary’s University and George Mason University last week.
Results from the Rams’ stretch of three matches in four days include a 4-3 win over Georgetown, 6-1 win over Mount St. Mary’s and 4-0 win over George Mason.
To start their road trip, the Rams faced off against the Georgetown Hoyas in Washington on March 12th.
Looking to earn the doubles point to get ahead early in the match, the outcome of the point landed in the hands of the doubles pair of fifth-year Nadia Rajan and second-year Nikki Fernando.
The pair, playing in the number two spot, got the edge on their opponents, fourth-year Olivia Ashton and fourth-year Morgan Coburn, earning a 7-6 (3) win.
”We know we’re unstoppable, it’s obviously a confidence boost and we just want to win as many matches as we can,” Rajan said. “Having to come together, being able to trust someone and understanding your role and how you play your part on the court definitely has made a big impact. We both believe in each other and we also believe that we can beat almost every team if we play the right game and play how we’re supposed to.”
Rhody would go on to win three of their six singles matches. Rajan, Fernando and third-year Klara Nelander earned the wins for URI in the second, fourth and fifth spots respectively.
Fernando’s 6-0, 6-3 singles win was her eighth singles victory in a row. This earned her the title of Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis Player of the Week.
Just the week before, Rajan earned those same honors.
”I definitely haven’t had the best run over the last year or two in tennis, so being recognized and getting that award feels really nice,” Rajan said.
A testament to the team’s talent, Rajan, Fernando, and second-year Sophie Herrman all received those honors this season, marking the first time in program history that three different Rams were named in the same season.
Herrman, playing in the number one spot, battled against Georgetown’s fifth-year Chloe Bendetti, with Bendetti ultimately coming out on top in three sets (6-1, 1-6, 6-1).
Rhody improved to 8-2 on the season following this victory.
About 24 hours later, the Rams were set to face Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
All three doubles pairs claimed wins to earn the doubles point – Fernando and Rajan’s pair along with second-year Ava Grnja and first-year Steph Hylton’s pair did so with perfect 6-0 scores.
Herrman and her doubles partner fourth-year Valentina Cvackova defeated fourth-year Ana Alvarez-Storni and fourth-year Adriana Barney 6-4.
URI’s singles matches continued the faultless scores, with both Fernando and Nelander defeating their opponents 6-0, 6-0.
Rajan, Cvackova and Grnja also earned singles victories, with the lone singles loss coming from the number one spot as fifth-year Sofia Kostirko defeated Herrman 6-2, 6-2.
With this win, URI’s road record improved to 3-0 on the season.
Just two days later, that record would extend to 4-0 as Rhody swept A-10 opponent George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia on Friday afternoon. This was their first A-10 opponent of the season.
Doubles wins from the number one and two spots gave the Rams the early lead, with number one spot Herrman and Cvackova’s win being a perfect 6-0.
The three singles wins that clinched the URI victory came from Herrman (6-4, 6-0), Rajan (6-3, 6-2) and Fernando (6-3, 6-1).
Fernando’s 6-3, 6-1 win over second-year Maitree Diksha Rout was her 10th straight. Her victory was also the match to clinch the team win, improving their overall record to 10-2.
Notably, the other three singles matches that did not finish due to URI having already won the match, Cvackova, Nelander and Hylton, were all up by a set at the time they were halted.
In a dominant effort all around, the three matches sum up what URI Head Coach Jonas Brobeck has been preaching to his team all season long.
”I definitely put a lot of credit towards [Brobeck],” Rajan said. “He has got us to compete as a team, which we haven’t really had in a really long time. As a team, win together and lose together.”
With the amount of trust the team has for each other, success has come through playing for each other and the coaching staff, according to Brobeck.
”[Rajan] compliments me there, but I’ve complimented them from the start,” Brobeck said. “When my assistant coach Dan [Cardiff] and I came in here and we took over this program, they were bought in from start to finish. When you trust and believe in the people around you that you go to work with, you care about and you work your tail off for, good things happen and it’s awesome to see as a coach.”
There is an understanding within the team that there are always things to work on in practices and games, according to Brobeck.
”The cool thing is we’re playing really well right now and obviously the results are in our favor, but everyone is seeing that we can still improve on both doubles and singles,” Brobeck said.
Looking to make it 10 straight wins, the Rams will next face off against the 11-3 Sacred Heart University Pioneers in Fairfield, Connecticut on Thursday at 11 a.m.