The University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team had five players compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association New England Regional Championship in Cambridge, Massachusetts, over the weekend, collecting five wins in total.
Fourth-year Nikki Fernando received an automatic bid into the main draw that began on Friday, while the other four Rams, second-year Grace Darcy, second-year Anastasia Pettersson, fourth-year Sophie Herrman and first-year Kajsa Helgesen, competed in the qualifying round on Thursday.
In order to qualify for the main draw, players needed to win in two rounds of play. Darcy and Pettersson prevailed in the first round, while Herrman and Helgesen fell to their opponents.
Darcy took on second-year Ella Lindsey from Marist University, handily earning the 6-4, 6-1 win. Pettersson faced off against Brown University second-year Bella Hu, coming back from a 6-1 first set loss to take the following sets 6-2, 6-2.
“ [I’m] very proud of [Pettersson]; that was probably one of her better matches in college so far in her young career,” URI Head Coach Jonas Brobeck said. “She missed a little too much in the beginning, but then found her footing and started to play super well. That comes from all her hard work and confidence, so she earned that match.”
In the second qualifying round, Darcy fell to Dartmouth College first-year Josephine Lombardi 6-0, 6-2, and Pettersson engaged in a three-set super tiebreaker with second-year Andrea Martinez of Cornell University, with Martinez winning 6-4, 1-6, 10-3.
“Both of the matches were on the same day after each other, so I had an hour and 15 minutes [in between matches],” Pettersson said. “I was a little tired, but not too bad. I definitely thought it was a great match; she was just stronger.”
Herrman and Helgesen competed in the qualifying consolation round, where they won in straight sets. Herrman took down Quinnipiac University fourth-year Vera Sekerina 6-2, 6-1, and Helgesen earned a 6-0, 6-2 win against Fairfield University third-year Maeve Cassidy.
Despite falling in the qualifying round, Darcy received a lucky loser spot in the main draw to face off against No. 2 seeded third-year Orly Ogilvy from Yale University. Darcy fell in a 6-1, 6-2 score to Ogilvy, who would advance to the Round of 32.
Fernando’s stint in the singles main draw was also short-lived, as she took on Boston College third-year Tola Glowacka and fell in three sets: 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
“Nikki kind of stayed even-level when she maybe had to kind of level up, which she wasn’t able to do, and unfortunately lost that match, but still a really good match,” Brobeck said.
On the doubles side, Darcy and Pettersson were taken down in the first round by Bryant University’s Natalia Vela and Maria Jose Hernandez Diaz in an 8-5 score.
“It was a tough match because they came out stronger,” Pettersson said. “That’s one thing me and Grace really have to work on is starting off the matches a little better because we’ve always been losing the first couple games and then getting back into it.”
The second pair of Fernando and Helgesen won their first matchup against the Boston University duo of Lauren Kettlewell and Emily Yimei Zhao 8-5, but they withdrew from the following round due to a minor injury.
“It was a good tournament, and anytime we can get a couple of wins in regionals, it’s a good showing,” Brobeck said.
The Rams are set to finish out their fall slate when they host Sacred Heart University, Providence College and Bryant at the URI Tennis Complex for the URI Fall Invite on Oct. 25-26.
