Women’s Tennis Sneaks Past USJ, 5-4

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Suffolk women's tennis recorded its first victory of the season with a thrilling 5-4 decision over St. Joseph (Conn.) Tuesday night at The Elizabeth Speer Tennis Complex. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 5 | St. Joseph (Conn.) 4 
ECORDS: Suffolk (1-1) | St. Joseph (Conn.) (0-2) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk put the first strike on the board as senior Caren Urbano and junior Rachel Hill teamed up for an 8-4 win over Kathleen Gilland and Liliana Garcia on the first doubles court.  

The Blue Jays tipped the scale in their favor as they took victories on the second and third doubles court to take momentum into singles play. 

Anastasiya Zakharava leveled the playing field at 2-all as the sophomore secured a triumph at No. 5 singles when she defeated Jillian Milo, 6-3, 6-2. 

Urbano's 6-3, 6-0 decision over Gilland from the first position, followed by Nia Bebb's 6-4, 6-2 victory against Anaya Srivatsav in the third spot pushed Suffolk in front by a pair, 4-2.  

USJ got a point back with a decision at sixth singles, before Angela Gross took down Gia Alvarez, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, in the fourth spot to secure the win for the blue-and-gold.  

Hill fell to Garcia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the second spot for the 5-4 final.

THE RESULTS
DOUBLES
1 – Caren Urbano/Rachel Hill (Suffolk) defeated Kathleen Gilland/Liliana Garcia (USJ), 8-4
2 – Ananya Srivastsav/Jillian Milo (USJ) defeated Nia Bebb/Angela Gross (Suffolk), 8-6
3 – Gia Alvarez/Nina Gardella (USJ) defeated Alex Kickham/Anastasiya Zakharava (Suffolk), 8-5
SINGLES
1 – Caren Urbano (Suffolk) defeated Kathleen Gilland (USJ), 6-3, 6-0
2 – Liliana Garcia (USJ) defeated Rachel Hill (Suffolk), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
3 – Nia Bebb (Suffolk) defeated Ananya Srivatsav (USJ), 6-4, 6-2
4 – Angela Gross (Suffolk) defeated Gia Alvarez (USJ), 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
5 – Anastasiya Zakharava (Suffolk) defeated Jillian Milo (USJ), 6-3, 6-2
6 – Anna Nemergut (USJ) defeated Alex Kickham (Suffolk), 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) 

ORDER OF FINISH: Doubles (1, 3, 2) | Singles (5, 1, 3, 6, 4, 2) 

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams moved to 16-1 all-time against the Blue Jays. 
• Suffolk downed USJ in back-to-back battles. 
• Suffolk is unbeaten against St. Joseph (Conn.) with Drew Goldstein on the bench.
• Urbano, Bebb and Zakharava are unbeaten in singles on their respective courts thus far this season. 
• Urbano and Hill are the first Suffolk twosome to pick up a doubles point this year.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up its season-opening road trip Thursday, Sept. 14 at Rhode Island College at 3:30 p.m.