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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford tennis teams got its weekend off to a strong start on Thursday afternoon, when they earned victories over Holy Cross in a rivalry match at the Hartford Tennis Courts. The men jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 6-1 victory, while the women battled their way to a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
Aneil Bhalla had the clinching singles match for the men, while Haley Gileau sealed the deal for the women.
With Holy Cross' women's team late to arrive, the men got started first, and Hartford romped to a sweep of the doubles matches to take a quick 1-0 lead. Bhalla and
Josh Isaacson won at No. 1 doubles 8-3, with
Eric Floum and
Edgardo Ureta following suit at No. 3. Bogan Nedelcu and
Marco Neves took their match at No. 2 doubles by an 8-4 count.
Neves and Isaacson quickly gave Hartford a 3-0 lead. Playing at No. 2 singles, Neves handled Chris Das, 6-3, 6-3. At No. 3, Isaacson made quick work of Ryan Sullivan, winning 6-4, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Bhalla was involved in a tightly-contested match at No. 1 singles. After dropping the first set 6-1 over Matt Wierzel, Bhalla rebounded for a 6-4 triumph in the second set. He then took control and dropped Wierzel with a 6-1 decision in the third and final set. That gave Hartford its fourth point, clinching the overall match.
Nedelcu won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5, while Ureta took a 6-3, 6-4 decision at No. 6 to give the Hawks their 6-1 final. For Nedelcu, it was his first collegiate singles victory.
"The guys got the job done, plain and simple," head coach Michael Raymond remarked. "We took the first four available points and cruised from there. It was great to see Bogdan pick up his first singles win. He's been an integral part of our lineup all semester and hopefully he'll have more on the way."
When the women got underway, Katina Zampas and Maggie Sabatino raced out to an 8-1 victory at No. 1 doubles to get the Hawks off to a good start. After the Crusaders responded with a victory at No. 3 doubles, Hartford had Kaitlin Lennon and Haley Gileau still on the court at No. 2 doubles with the doubles point on the line. The pair were engaged in a dramatic battle, going back and forth until they reached an 8-8 tie. Fortunately for the Hawks, Lennon and Gileau emerged victorious in the tiebreak set, 7-5.
The Hawks then dropped two of the first three singles matches on the court, with Zampas taking a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the top of the Hartford ladder. With the overall score tied 2-2, Nicole Haynal put away a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at No. 4 singles to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead.
Gileau then finished off her 6-0, 7-5 decision at No. 6 to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead, clinching the overall match.
"Haley came up huge for us today," Raymond commented. "Teaming with Kait to clinch the doubles point, then gutting out her second set to win the match-clincher in singles was awesome. Overall, the ladies proved once again that they can bear down when necessary and win close matches. The doubles point was absolutely crucial and I'm extremely proud of the guts and effort they showed."
Hartford will hit the road for its next match, a visit to Marist on Saturday. The Hawks and Red Foxes will play both men's and women's matches in Poughkeepsie, starting at 3:00 p.m.
