The University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team fell in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament to the University of Richmond on Thursday, following a first-round win against George Mason University on Wednesday.
Rhody, the No. 6 seed, faced off against the No. 11-seeded Patriots on Wednesday night under the lights at the United States Tennis Association National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla.
URI took the 1-0 lead, earning the doubles point in dominant fashion. Fourth-year Nikki Fernando and first-year Kajsa Helgesen picked up their 19th win of the season in a 6-0 score.
“ We understood pretty early that they were going to fit really well with each other in doubles,” URI head coach Jonas Brobeck said. “Sometimes it’s not easy when you’re a fourth-year playing with a first-year, but I thought Nikki had taken Kajsa under her wing and created a great unity, team chemistry and friendship on the court.”
Fourth-years Sophie Herrman and Ava Grnja clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot. From there on out, it was all Rhody in singles play, claiming victories at the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 spots.
The lone Patriots point came from third-year Mary Young over Helgesen in a 6-3, 6-3 score.
Fernando, Herrman and second-year Anastasia Pettersson each earned wins in straight sets in their respective matches.
“ The longer the match went, the more we settled in, and I felt like we did a good job of competing the right way and taking care of our courts,” Brobeck said. “It was a great warmup match leading into a really tough Richmond team the day after.”
The Rams picked up from where they left off the night before, taking the doubles point against the Spiders with three tight matches.
Richmond, the No. 3 seed, had its duo of fourth-year Lara Bakhaya and second-year Sofia Barbulescu take down Fernando and Helgesen at No. 1, but the Rams earned the next two wins.
Pettersson and second-year Grace Darcy battled and claimed victory 7-6 (7-2) in the No. 2 spot, followed by Herrman and Grnja’s 6-4 victory at No. 3.
“Ava and Sophie played arguably their best match of the year,” Brobeck said. “Super proud of them to go out playing that way. It’s something that we talked about the importance of leaving it all out there, no regrets.”
In singles play, it was the Spiders who claimed victory in straight sets for all four points. Darcy’s match against Barbulescu at the No. 1 spot was the most contested, as she fell 7-5, 6-2.
First-year Miruna Scarlat was engaging in a three-set battle with third-year Lucy Webber, but the match did not finish, as the Spiders had already clinched the match win.
The following day, the Spiders fell in the A-10 semifinals to No. 2 Virginia Commonwealth University.
For the Rams, their appearance in the quarterfinals was their fourth-straight. They finished with a 12-11 overall record on the season.
Drawing from this season, there are still lots to learn, which stems from the coaching staff changing their approach to prepare their players, according to Brobeck.
“I don’t really have the answers for them right now,” Brobeck said. “I felt like some of these matches this year slipped out of our hands. But that is something, ultimately, as a coach, that I take ownership of 100%. Hopefully, they’ve learned a lot from this year, and we will only get stronger.”
The Rams will be parting ways with their three fourth-year captains: Fernando, Herrman and Grnja. However, with four of the nine active players as current underclassmen, Rhody will welcome a new group of players with the same goal of capturing the A-10 title next season.
