The University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team took down Atlantic 10 Conference opponent Davidson College 4-1 over the weekend before falling to Bryant University in a tight-knit 4-3 contest on Tuesday.
Windy conditions with a high of 45 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday afternoon at the URI Tennis Complex did not deter the Rams, who engaged in an 80-minute doubles battle before claiming the match in singles play for their sixth straight win.
Third-year Nikki Fernando and first-year Katharina Spieth took on the Wildcats’ fourth-year duo of Kavya Patel and Daniela Porges at No. 1 doubles. With the match coming down to the final point, Fernando hit the winning shot on her forehand to clinch the doubles point 7-6 (7).
“We did a great job of being brave and playing our type of tennis on important points,” URI Head Coach Jonas Brobeck said. “We had some opportunities to win it earlier, and Davidson just came up with some great shots. But we didn’t waver in that; we stayed composed and went after it, which made us win that match.”
No. 3 doubles took care of business beforehand for the Rams, where fourth-year Klara Nelander and third-year Sophie Herrman won 7-6 (5).
“I felt like we were leading more at No. 3 and had our opportunities and didn’t close them, but then stayed in to grind it out,” Brobeck said. “When you feel like you should finish a match and you don’t because the opponent is playing great, that kicks in your nerves. But we had good composure, stayed true to ourselves, competed well and found a way.”
Carrying that momentum into singles play, Nelander, Fernando and first-year Grace Darcy won their matchups in straight sets to earn the team win.
“It was an extremely exciting doubles point, so I was a little nervous that we would get too high from it and then get a dip in singles,” Brobeck said. “But I feel like we did a great job of just celebrating that one point and then composing ourselves.”
Despite coming off being named A-10 Rookie of the Week on March 25, first-year Anastasia Pettersson’s 6-4, 6-3 loss to Davidson’s first-year Ellie Hammond was the lone point that the Wildcats earned in the match.
Following the victory, URI headed to in-state rival Bryant on Tuesday afternoon, where its winning streak was snapped.
The Rams dropped the doubles point, as the top two spots were won by the Bulldogs, with only Nelander and Herrman getting the 6-1 win in the No. 3 spot.
Unfortunately for the Rams, the doubles point would prove to be the difference maker, as singles play was split evenly.
Spieth and Fernando, who fell 6-2 in the No. 1 doubles spot, contributed two points to Rhody’s score in singles in straight sets. Fernando’s win in the No. 3 singles spot was her team-best 18th of the season.
The final Rhody point was earned by Nelander at No. 6, who came back from a first-set loss against Bryant’s third-year Lisa Marie Dugec and took the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Moving towards the end of the regular season, there are two remaining matches on the schedule for the Rams, one being against conference foe, the University of Massachusetts, on April 19.
“We’re going into the end of April where there’s only one match each weekend, which I like because you can take care of your body,” Brobeck said. “We can just fine-tune some things and continue this momentum that we have, but also stay present in the work we do daily. We have to stay hungry and humble. We’re in this spot right now because of the work that we have put in outside the court.”
Rhody’s matchup against Fordham scheduled for Saturday was postponed due to incoming weather, marking their contest with Southern New Hampshire University on April 13 their next match.
