POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Marist women's tennis team fell to Niagara in its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.
“Today was very encouraging,” said head coach Jason Sacher, “Every one of our players battled right to the end. I couldn't have asked more from the girls, they all played their hearts out. There are many positives we need to take from today and build off them going forward.”
Sophomore Karly Pang (Kaneohe, Hawaii) dropped a close first singles match to Sarah Hellstern, 6-4, 6-3. Sabrina Tahir (Yonkers, N.Y.) earned Marist's first singles victory over Ashley Ta in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Freshman Callie Morlock (Golden, Colo.) fell to Paulina Velasquez 6-2, 6-2. Senior Marielle Campbell (Patterson, N.Y.) was edged in three sets by Maria Ortiz, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Sophomore Melissa Carlay (New Hyde Park N.Y.) also fell in three sets to Iva Celan, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Sophomore Lisa Ventimiglia (Bayside, N.Y.) posted a second singles victory for the Red Foxes with a shutout 6-0, 6-0 win over Jenna McCune.
Marist won two of three doubles matches against the Purple Eagles. The duo of Tahir and Pang topped Hellstern and Velasquez, 8-5. In second doubles, Carlay and Morlock fell to Ortiz and Celan, 8-5. In the final doubles match, Campbell and sophomore Katie Seitz (Pennington, N.J.) cruised by Ta and McCune, 8-1.
The Red Foxes return to action on Wednesday, Mar. 26 vs. Monmouth. The match is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
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