ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's tennis team recorded the final three wins in singles play to complete their comeback against Bard College, 4-3, in the team's home opener Saturday afternoon on the Dr. Heissan '63 Tennis Courts. The Red Dragons improved to 1-1 on the season and the Raptors dropped to 0-1.
Sophomore
Taylor Plue (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) and freshman
Ashley Glaviano (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) both won their respective doubles and singles matches to go 2-0 on the day, while sophomore
Annika Cripe (Islip, N.Y./Islip) clinched the match with a victory on the No. 2 singles court. The freshmen trio of Glaviano,
Dakota Jimenez (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) and
Kiersten Rufrano (Oneonta, NY) all recorded their first career wins.
Glaviano and Plue teamed up on the No. 3 court in doubles play and they outpaced Bard's Catherine Chapel and Jesse Radzik for a 6-3 victory. The Raptors took the No. 1 doubles court to tie the match, which put court No. 2 in the spotlight. The pairing of Jimenez and Rufrano were down 5-4 to Natalie Lagunes and Patricia Santos on court two, before the first year tandem delivered some powerful serves and untouchable returns to win three straight games for the 7-5 victory, earning the doubles point for Oneonta.
Bard took a 3-1 lead in singles play after they got the upper hand on courts one, four and five. On the No. 3 singles court, Plue started the team's comeback as she cruised past Lagunes in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Glaviano earned her first singles win on the No. 6 court over Sienna Roveda in straight 6-3 sets, tying the overall match at three apiece.
The final court was the No. 2 singles court, where Cripe faced Paige Houghton. The two went back and forth in the first set, but Cripe came away with the set, 6-4, then the Islip, N.Y. native dominated the second set against Houghton, 6-2, to win the Red Dragons first match of the season.
Oneonta is back in action on Saturday, September 20, for the start of SUNYAC play. The Red Dragons travel to Oswego to take on the Lakers for a 1 pm match.
