TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's tennis team (5-1) dropped its first match of the season, falling 6-1 against Miami (Ohio) on Friday at the Western Athletic Club.
"We ran into a Miami team that was more battle-tested than us," head coach Eric Toth said. "If you look at their schedule, they have been involved in some tough matches, and the way our schedule is, our challenges are on the back end of conference play. Miami was the better team. They played well in singles. I'm sure we could have played better in spots, but it wasn't like our quality was terrible. We played a good doubles point. We'll play a very similar team next week in Xavier who's very similar to Miami in terms of being battle-tested. This was good for us, even in defeat. We must have the right attitude and show up at practice on Monday ready to get back to work."
Cincinnati battled to record the doubles point.
The freshman pair of Sakurako Watanabe and Morgan Pyrz took the first doubles match, defeating Sarah Dev and Lovisa Valentinsson, 6-4. The doubles point was decided on court one, where freshman Gabrielle Guenther and sophomore Rozalia Gruszczynska won a tightly knit battle, 7-5, against Emilia Valentinsson and Sara Zalukar.
In singles, Miami won all six matches. Gunether battled tough against Valentinsson but eventually fell 7-5, 7-64.
UP NEXT:
The Bearcats hit the road for the first time all season as they face Xavier in a cross-town shootout on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Eastern Hills Indoor Tennis Club. Game time against the Musketeers is scheduled for 5 p.m.
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MATCH RESULTS
Miami (Ohio) 6, Cincinnati 1
Feb. 16, 2024 | Cincinnati, OH | Western Athletic Club
Doubles
1. Rozalia Gruszczynska / Gabrielle Guenther (CIN) def. Emilia Valentinsson / Sara Zalukar (MU), 7-5
2. Nishitha Saravanan / Catherine Denysiewic (MU) def. Callie Flanagan / Victoire de Samucewicz (CIN), 6-2
3. Morgan Pyrz / Sakurako Watanabe (CIN) def. Sarah Dev / Lovisa Valentinsson (MU), 6-4
ORDER OF FINISH: 2,3,1
Singles
1. Nishitha Saravanan (MU) def. Victoire de Samucewicz (CIN), 6-3, 7-5
2. Catherine Denysiewic-Slowek (MU) def. Rozalia Gruszczynska (CIN), 6-2, 6-1
3. Emilia Valentinsson (MU) def. Gabrielle Guenther (CIN), 7-5, 7-64
4. Sara Zalukar (MU) def. Sakurako Watanabe (CIN), 6-3, 7-5
5. Sarah Dev (MU) def. Callie Flanagan (CIN), 6-4, 6-3
6. Lauren Joyce (MU) def. Morgan Pyrz (CIN), 6-3, 6-1
ORDER OF FINISH: 6,2,5,4,1,3