The University of Rhode Island’s women’s tennis team fell short on Sunday in a one-match weekend against the New Jersey Institute of Technology at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, bringing the team’s overall record to 4-2 on the season.
The Rams lost 5-2 on Sunday to a tough opponent. The Rams had trouble against NJIT last season as well, taking a 4-1 loss on Feb. 15, 2025.
In doubles action, the first two matches were lost by the Rams, giving NJIT the first point of the day. The matches were close ones, where fourth-year Nikki Fernando and first-year Kajsa Helgesen lost 6-3, and the second-year pairing of Grace Darcy and Anastasia Pettersson lost 6-4.
“It was a tough match, but we used every tool in the toolbox, and it just wasn’t our day,” Fernando said.
Fourth-years Sophie Herrman and Ava Grnja took care of business in their respective doubles match as they continued to play well beside one another with a 6-4 win.
“Sophie and Ava, two seniors, really happy with them,” URI Head Coach Jonas Brobeck said. “They’re playing great tennis right now with great energy levels.”
Doubles had been a strong suit so far this season for the Rams, but they lost their second doubles point of the season on Sunday.
“Even though we lost the doubles point, I feel like we’re playing some of the best doubles we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Brobeck said. “Doubles is definitely something I felt was still pretty good even though we didn’t win.”
In singles action, the Rams took home two wins from Pettersson and Helgesen. Pettersson won in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-2. Helgesen also won in straight sets, 7-5 and 6-1.
“The game felt really good,” Pettersson said. “We’ve been playing a lot of matches, and I feel like we’re really getting into the season very well.”
Pettersson is now 4-1 on the season in her singles matches, and has not lost a singles match since her first matchup of this spring season against Boston University on Jan. 24.
“It’s huge to have a young freshman down below kind of anchoring there and making us really deep,” Brobeck said. “We’re very happy with where she is, and there’s still a lot of room for improvement as well, which is the big upside.”
The other four singles matches were lost by the Rams, ultimately giving them the loss on Sunday with a 2-4 record in singles for the day.
Fernando and Darcy lost their singles matches in straight sets. Fernando lost 6-3 and 6-2. Darcy lost 6-4 and 7-5. Herrman and first-year Miruna Scarlat lost their singles matches in three sets. Herrman fell short in a tight one with a 7-5 final set in her match. Scarlat fell short 6-1 in the final set of her match.
Rhody is scheduled to have one-match weekends for the remainder of February.
“It’s very valuable to have weeks where you can kind of hone in a little bit more on practice and dig in on certain things that we need to work on from a development standpoint,” Brobeck said. With just one-match weeks, you can work on things a little bit more.”
The Rams will face Brown University in Providence on Saturday, looking to bounce back and get into the win column.
