Amherst, MA... The College of New Jersey women's tennis team split its six singles matches with Skidmore College, but the Thoroughbreds had a one-match edge in doubles to come away with a 5-4 win over the Lions in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday.
The Lions finish the season with a lofty 16-3 record, while the Thoroughbreds improved to 15-5 and will play host Amherst College on Sunday.
Trailing 2-1 going into singles, TCNJ claimed a 4-3 lead based on the order of how the matches finished with
Deborah Wu (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) being the first Lion to finish as she garnered a 6-3, 6-2 win in the sixth position.
Felice Trinh (Linden, NJ/Linden) added another point from her second spot by the scores of 4-6, 6-0, and 6-1 before
Allison Tierney (Berkeley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston) collected a 3-6, 7-5, and 6-4 victory at third singles.
Skidmore then won the final two matches to earn the win.
In doubles action, the pairing of
Paige Aiello (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) and
Lauren Balsamo (Wall, NJ/Wall) cruised with an 8-1 win in the third slot.
Skidmore College 5, The College of New Jersey 4
Singles competition
1. Melissa Hirsch (SKIDMORE) def.
Karisse Bendijo (TCNJ) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
2.
Felice Trinh (TCNJ) def. Tory Engros (SKIDMORE) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
3.
Allison Tierney (TCNJ) def. Nataly Mendoza (SKIDMORE) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Lee Ford (SKIDMORE) def.
Paige Aiello (TCNJ) 6-1, 6-2
5. Alex Smith (SKIDMORE) def.
Lauren Balsamo (TCNJ) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
6.
Deborah Wu (TCNJ) def. Robyn Baird (SKIDMORE) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Lee Ford/Nataly Mendoza (SKIDMORE) def.
Karisse Bendijo/
Allison Tierney (TCNJ) 8-6
2. Melissa Hirsch/Tory Engros (SKIDMORE) def.
Emily Petersack/
Felice Trinh (TCNJ) 8-5
3.
Paige Aiello/
Lauren Balsamo (TCNJ) def. Robyn Baird/Alex Smith (SKIDMORE) 8-1
