The University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team fell on the road to Davidson College on Saturday, losing 6-1.
This was URI’s second consecutive loss after their nine-game winning streak, bringing their record on the year to 10-4.
“The season is long and there is going to be some momentum changes and things are going to go up and down,” URI Head Coach Jonas Brobeck said. “The important thing is to be brave enough to learn from our losses.”
In the number two singles spot, fifth-year Nadia Rajan secured the Rams’ only point of the day with a straight-set victory over fourth-year Emma Heiderscheit. 7-5, 6-4.
“I just wanted to compete,“ Rajan said. “I don’t care if I play ugly or awful, I am just trying to get the win on the board.”
This was Rajan’s 13th singles win of the season. It is Rajan’s final season, and she credited her success to playing with that in mind.
“It is my final year,” Rajan said. “Every time I go out knowing that it is one of my last matches.”
In doubles, Rhode Island’s number three pair of third-year Klara Nelander and second-year Sophie Herrman defeated first-years Ines Roti and Charlotte Calderwood 6-2. However, Rhode Island fell in the number one and number two doubles, so the point was awarded to Davidson.
Nelander snatched the first set from second-year Savanna Kollock 6-1 in number four singles but was defeated in the following sets 6-3, 6-2.
Rhody is adjusting to the absence of fourth-year Valentina Cvackova, who went down with a knee injury against Sacred Heart last week. Cvackova received Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors last season and has earned 14 wins in number-one doubles with Sophie Herman. She has also contributed 10 singles wins this season, primarily in the number three slot.
“This was our first match without her, so right now we are still coming together,” Rajan said. “Honestly we need to be confident in ourselves that we can still win, even though she is a big part of our lineup.”
This has forced URI to shift in their typical singles lineups and left a hole in their number one doubles slot. Brobeck addressed how the Rams plan to deal with this moving forward.
“Injuries are oftentimes not in our control,” Brobeck said. “We talked about it as a team, we need to have a next woman mentality, whoever is playing that day needs to step up.”
This contest marked the end of Rhode Island’s six-game road trip. Brobeck reflected on how his team approached the extended periods of playing away.
“Of course longer road trips are a little bit more challenging both physically and mentally,” Brobeck said. “As coaches, if we keep on emphasizing the things that are out of our control we are just going to find excuses to not play the right way.”
The Rams will look to get back to their winning ways at 1 p.m. on Thursday, when they take on their Rhode Island foe, Bryant University, at the URI Tennis Complex.