Men's Box Score
Women's Box Score
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - It came a few days later than scheduled, but as the Hartford men's and women's tennis teams played their first matches of the month of April, they earned their first victories of the spring. Both teams defeated Wagner, 7-0, in a match originally scheduled for last Friday but pushed to Tuesday afternoon due to inclement weather.
On the women's side, only on Seahawk player was able to claim more than two games in any set, in singles or doubles. Livia Blasque teamed with Margaret Sabatino to grab an 8-2 triumph at Number One doubles, while Nicole Haynal and Kaitlin Lennon put their match at Number Two doubles away quickly, winning 8-1. Lined up to play at Number Three doubles, Amanda Epstein and Emily Willhoft won their match by forfeit.
Things kept going smoothly as singles got underway. Three players - Sabatino, Epstein and Lennon - blanked their opponents, winning 6-0, 6-0 decisions. Playing at Number One, Blasque nearly did the same, rolling to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Nicole Haynal encountered a bit of resistance from her opponent at Number Three singles, but still grabbed a convincing 6-4, 6-2 triumph.
On the men's side, the success was similar.
Leading things off at Number One doubles, Aneil Bhalla and Marco Neves ran away with an 8-1 victory. The other two pairs - Josh Isaacson with Eric Floum and Edgardo Ureta with Aaron Kooden - did one better, each winning 8-0 matches.
At Number One singles, Aneil Bhalla pulled out what was unquestionably the match of the day. After dropping the first set, 6-7 (3-7), Bhalla rallied for a 6-4 decision in the second set. Bhalla and Wagner's Taylor Santoro engaged in the day's only tiebreak set, which went back and forth before Bhalla emerged with a hard-fought 10-7 triumph.
Aside from Santoro, Wagner proved to be little challenge for the rest of the Hawks. Josh Isaacson won 6-2, 6-2 at Number Two singles, and Edgardo Ureta worked to a 6-2, 6-0 win at Number Five. Much like their counterparts on the women's side, three men posted whitewashes, as Neves, Floum and Kooden each earned 6-0, 6-0 victories.
"This was a good beginning to a tough week," head coach Michael Raymond said. "It was definitely a step in the right direction for our program. We have a tough road ahead of us, and hopefully these wins will give both teams momentum heading to Worcester on Wednesday."
Indeed, there is little time to dwell on the first victories of the spring for the Hartford tennis teams. The Hawks will take their act on the road on Wednesday afternoon, taking on Holy Cross in Worcester. Both matches are set to get underway at 3:30 p.m.
