SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The TCNJ women's tennis team wound up on the wrong side of a handful of razor-thin decisions in a 5-2 loss at Union in Saturday's spring opener.
 
Zoey Albert and Aira Abalos picked up victories on the top two singles courts for the Lions, who lost a pair of marathon third-set super tiebreakers – one 11-9 and the other 12-10 – as well as a pair of tiebreak sets on another court in an evenly matched battle with the hosts.
 
The Garnet Chargers claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3, offsetting a 6-4 victory for Albert and Shruti Mannan on the top court.
 
A quick win at No. 6 singles spotted Union a 2-0 lead, but Albert got the Lions on the board with an impressive 6-4, 6-1 win over Skylar Semon at No. 1 singles. Albert was down a break at 4-3 in the first set, but broke twice to claim the opening frame and cruised from there, reeling off nine of the last ten games.
 
Abalos pulled off a remarkable rally at No. 2, overcoming a 5-2 deficit and storming back to claim the next five games and the first set, 7-5. She was down 3-2 and a break in the second set, only to run off four straight games to seal the match and even the team tally at 2-all.
 
Union grabbed a huge win in a third-set tiebreaker at No. 5, where Gabriella Robinson dropped an 11-9 nail-biter as the Lions found themselves pushed to the brink.
 
The Lions needed both of the remaining courts to win the match, and they needed to come back from a set down on each. Despite a hearty effort, the blue and gold came up just short.
 
Mannan came down from 40-0 down at 4-4 in the second set to break Samantha Jacobs at No. 3. She held serve to seal the second set, 6-4, and send the match to a decisive super breaker. Buried in a 7-1 hole, Mannan pulled herself out and saved two match points at 7-9, ultimately grabbing one of her own at 10-9. Unfortunately, Jacobs managed to fend that off and take the next two for a 12-10 match-clinching triumph.
 
That left Anusha Perinkolam, who dropped the first set in a tiebreaker to Sydney Alphabet at No. 4. The rookie led 5-2 in the second but was unable to get to the finish line, with Alphabet ultimately grabbing another breaker and a 7-6 (0), 7-6 (5) decision.

UP NEXT

• The Lions get right back to it on Sunday, heading to No. 40 RPI for a Sunday showdown.