FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - The Western Connecticut State University women's tennis team came up short in a 7-0 decision at Farmingdale State on Monday afternoon, but several Wolves pushed their matches deep despite the shutout scoreline.
The toughest battle of the day came at No. 6 singles, where junior Keira Hammond (Carmel, N.Y.) gave WestConn its best chance at a point. Hammond dropped a tight first-set tiebreak, then rallied to win the second set in a tiebreak of her own before falling in a third-set super tiebreak — the longest and closest match on the court. Junior Kate Robinson (Brookfield, Conn.) also pushed her opponent to the brink at No. 4 singles, taking Farmingdale's Ana Hernandez to 7-5, 6-4 before dropping the decision.
At No. 3 doubles, graduate student Lesley Coronel (Danbury, Conn.) and junior Caroline Illescas (Danbury, Conn.) — both making the trip from the same hometown — put together the Wolves' best doubles showing of the day, taking three games off the Rams' Marybeth Zimos and Ana Hernandez before falling 6-3. Junior Elsie Sabol (Pleasantville, N.Y.) also competed well at No. 5 singles, taking Farmingdale's Emma Johannsen to 6-3, 6-4.
Senior Erickah Tertulien (Norwalk, Conn.) and sophomore Eilynn Pierre (Queens Village, N.Y.) rounded out the lineup at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, each battling a tough Farmingdale lineup led by senior Natalia Furchel and sophomore Kaelin Burnett.
While the shutout drops WestConn to 2-5Â on the season, the Wolves showed fight in several matches against a Farmingdale State squad that improved to 2-5. WestConn will look to rebound when they head to Salem State for a Little East Conference tilt on Saturday at 1 p.m.
"Compared to when we played Farmingdale last season, this year was a significant improvement." said WestConn Head Coach Shawn Stillman. "The lower half of the lineup set themselves up to win their courts. Winning is hard and it is a learned experience. Today's match was a good exercise towards winning."
