Medford, Mass.--Freshman Victoria Vittori (New Bedford, MA) recorded a pair of victories, including the match-clinching win at No. 6 singles, to lead the Rhode Island College women's tennis team to a 5-2 victory over Nazareth in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Div. III Championship played at Tufts University's Voute Courts on Friday morning.
THE BASICS
Rhode Island College 5, Nazareth 2
Rhode Island College (17-0)
Nazareth (14-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• RIC picked up the first point of the day at No. 3 doubles with freshmen Grace Zangari (Saunderstown, RI) and Vittori taking an 8-2 win over Nazareth junior Elizabeth Karstedt (Eden, NY) and senior Maeve Morgan (Amherst, NH).
• Nazareth tied the match at 1-1 with a win at No. 2 doubles as the team of junior Jackie Lisak (Rochester, NY) and junior Marisa Joyce (Syracuse, NY) posted an 8-2 win over the RIC pairing of junior Katherine Braganca (Pawtucket, RI) and freshman Emily Orticerio (Smithfield, RI).
• RIC closed out doubles play with a key win at the No. 1 spot with the team of senior Dayna Reilly (Swansea, MA) and freshman Laurel Ten Eyck (Warwick, RI) defeating Nazareth freshman Erin Schantz (Rochester, NY) and sophomore Maelah Nadeau (Raymond, ME) by a score of 8-4.
• The Anchorwomen had a 2-1 advantage heading into singles action.
• Reilly posted a (6-1, 6-0) win over Nadeau at the No. 1 singles spot to put RIC up 3-1 in the match.
• The Golden Flyers closed the match to a point, 3-2, when Joyce posted a (6-3, 6-1) win at No. 4 singles against Ten Eyck.
• Freshman Serena Bobola (Cranston, RI) gave RIC a 4-2 advantage in the match when she tallied a (6-0, 6-0) win at No. 5 singles against junior Aliana Burgos (Rochester, NY).
• Vittori then sealed the win for the Anchorwomen with a (6-0, 6-2) victory against junior Elena Alteri (Watertown, NY) at No. 6 singles.
• Zangari had a (7-5, 2-1) advantage over at No. 2 singles with Lisak holding a (6-3, 1-2) advantage over RIC freshman Hailey Raskob (North Smithfield, RI) at the No. 3 spot when the match was stopped.
WHAT'S NEXT
• In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will take on host Tufts in the second round of the NCAA Div. III Championship on Saturday, May 12 (10:30 a.m.). Due to expected inclement weather, the match will be played at the Woburn Racquet Club at 9 Webster St. in Woburn, MA.
