Ty Ammons
Staff Writer
Last year, the Troy University women’s tennis team faced Stetson and UCF to start its season, losing both matches. This year, the Lady Trojans split their matches against the same teams, but in reverse order.
On Saturday, Jan. 23, the women’s tennis team hoped to start its season with a victory, but it lost 1-6 to UCF.
Sophomore Nancy Karaky won Troy’s only singles match against freshman Natalia Serrano, 6-4, 6-2.
Sophomore Jiayuan Xue lost line one singles to senior Caroline Eberhart 6-2, 6-4. Freshman Hannah Seizer’s match was just as close as the first one. She lost 6-4, 6-2 to senior Sofia Baptista.
Sophomore Sanae Ohta put up a fight in her match, winning the second set, but losing in the match tiebreaker. She was beat by sophomore Emilia Granstrom 6-3, 3-6, 1-0.
Sophomore Efriliya Herlina also went down swinging, as the first set went into a tiebreaker. She lost to junior Cortney Cesarini 7-6, 6-4.
Freshman Luisa Ferrauti lost her line six singles match 6-3, 6-3 to freshman Diana Dehterevich.
Seizer and junior Alicia Rodriguez won three games in their doubles match against Baptista and Granstrom, but the Trojan women lost the match. Xue and Herlina were held scoreless in line two doubles, losing to Cesarini and Serrano 6-0.
Ohta and Karaky had much better luck, as the tables were turned, and they downed Eberhart and senior Clare Mendell 6-0.
On Sunday, Jan. 24, the Trojans looked to bounce back on the road against Stetson. The team faired much better in its second meet of the season, winning 5-2.
Xue played line one singles and lost in a close one to Eveline Lepinay 7-6, 6-4. Seizer put up a good fight in her match against junior Maja Salibasic, but Seizer lost in a tiebreaker 6-7, 7-5, 1-0.
Ohta took care of her match 6-2, 6-4 against junior Carolina Meregalli, and Herlina took three sets to beat sophomore Arijana Korac 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Karaky’s final score made her match look easy as she downed her opponent junior Brittany Hill 6-1, 6-3, and Ferrauti’s score was not much different. She won 6-2, 6-3 against senior Alexandra Lyubimova.
Xue and Herlina won line two doubles handily as they beat Meregalli and Korac 6-2, Ohta and Karaky’s doubles match was pretty easy as well. They won 6-3 against Lyubimova and freshman Alexe Viaud.
Rodriguez and Seizer’s doubles match was unfinished.
The women’s next match is against FIU in Miami on Friday, Jan. 29.
