GENEVA, N.Y.– The William Smith tennis team split action this afternoon to open up its alumnae weekend in Bristol Field House. The Herons fell to No. 37 NYU 8-1, before defeating Bard 9-0 in a Liberty League matchup.
William Smith moves to 5-10 on the season with a 1-4 mark in conference play, while the Violets move to 4-3 overall. The Raptors fall to 2-5 overall with an 0-4 record in the Liberty League.
Match 1 (NYU):
The Violets jumped out to a 2-1 lead over the Herons after doubles play. The lone William Smith win was in the No. 2 spot as sophomore Marin Montagne and junior Natalie Haythorn defeated Aditi Narayan and Glenda Boeker 8-3 for their first win as partners this season.
NYU continued its momentum into singles play, winning all six matches against William Smith. Montagne posted the closest match of the day in the No. 5 spot. She lost to Margaret Piatos 6-4, 3-6, 10-7, and falls to 7-4 in dual matches this season.
Haythorn put up a fight in the No. 3 spot, but ultimately fell to Narayan 6-3, 6-3. Sophomore Haley Levine took on the seventh-ranked singles player in the region, Jimena Menendez, in the No. 1 spot and fell 6-0, 6-1.
Match 2 (Bard):
The Herons responded well in their second match of the day and grabbed the early momentum, sweeping doubles play against the Raptors. Montagne and sophomore Maddy Buck defeated Hanna Okalava and Maya Kelly 8-4 in the No. 1 spot to move to 5-1 in dual matches.
Junior Emma Johnston and first-year Teghan Torrey moved to 2-0 in dual matches this season after defeating Paige Houghton and Dana Mulco 8-1 in the No. 2 spot. Junior Charlotte Sanford and sophomore Lizzy Legg won by default in the No. 3 spot due to lack of players for Bard.
William Smith continued on its momentum in singles play, sweeping all six matches over Bard. Levine defeated Oklava 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 spot for her third win of the season. First-year Mae Kellersman got back in the win column with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kelly in the No. 2 spot.
Junior Julia Pida defeated Houghton 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 3 spot to move to 4-4 in dual matches this season. Sanford moved to 2-0 in dual matches this season with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Mulco in the No. 4 spot. First-year Grace Magna earned a win in the No. 6 spot by default to help the Herons to the conference sweep.
Johnston clinched the match for the Herons after earning her first dual match singles win of the season. She defeated Lisa Kyrtoka 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 5 spot to secure William Smith's first conference victory of the season.
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow, Sunday April 14, when it hosts RPI in a Liberty League matchup. First serve between the Herons and the Engineers is set for 10 a.m. in Bristol Field House.
