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Women's Tennis Defeats WestConn In Thrilling Fashion, 5-4
Posted: Oct 06, 2022

Women's Tennis Defeats WestConn In Thrilling Fashion, 5-4

Box Score
Team Stats
Doubles
  • Melanie Grasso / Julia Misner def. Kathleen Gilland / Emily Kerr 8-6
  • Liliana Garcia / Ananya Srivatsav def. Sophie Charbonneau / Natalie Paradise 8-4
  • Julia Michaud / Bernae Webb def. Brooke Stillman / Meghan Lorenzen 8-4
Singles
  • Kathleen Gilland def. Melanie Grasso 6-4, 1-6, 11-9
  • Emily Kerr def. Julia Misner 6-0, 6-0
  • Liliana Garcia def. Sophie Charbonneau 6-3, 6-1
  • Natalie Paradise def. Gia Alverez 6-4, 0-6, 10-8
  • Aylina Razeq def. Anna Nemergut 6-3, 6-0
  • Meghan Lorenzen def. Jenna Griffith 6-0, 6-1

DANBURY, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's tennis defeated in-state foe Western Connecticut (West Conn.) on the road in thrilling fashion, 5-4, during their 2022 non-conference finale in Danbury, Conn., this afternoon. The Blue Jays won two of three doubles matches and three of six singles matches. The match came down to the final singles match, where Kathleen Gilland (Wethersfield, Conn.) secured an ace in the final point of a tiebreaker to claim victory for USJ.

MATCH INFORMATION
Score: USJ 5, West Conn. 4
Records: USJ (3-6, 1-4 GNAC), West Conn. (4-8, 1-3 LEC)
Location: Westside Tennis Courts (Danbury, Conn.)

KEY MOMENTS

  • The doubles team of Liliana Garcia (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Ananya Srivatsav (South Windsor, Conn.) got things started strong for the Blue Jays in No. 2 doubles, giving USJ an early 1-0 lead after taking the opening match, 8-4.
  • Julia Michaud (Bristol, Conn.) and Bernae Webb (Bridgeport, Conn.) made up the No. 3 doubles team, increasing the lead for the Blue Jays, taking down West Conn.'s team in similar fashion, 8-4. The win gave USJ an early 2-0 edge.
  • The No. 1 doubles team of Kathleen Gilland (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Emily Kerr (Portland, Conn.) rounded out the doubles matches for the afternoon, fighting hard, but falling, 8-6, as the Wolves cut the gap to 2-1.
  • Jenna Griffith (Higganum, Conn.) got things started in the No. 6 singles match, falling in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, as West Conn. would tie the match up at 2-2.
  • Kerr would answer back for USJ during No. 2 singles in a big way, posting a dominating 6-0, 6-0 straight set victory to retake the lead for USJ, 3-2.
  • Garcia would continue the Blue Jays momentum in the No. 3 Singles match for the Blue Jays, winning the contest in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1 and extending the lead to 4-2.
  • The No. 5 singles match would feature Anna Nemergut (Stratford, Conn.) for the Blue Jays, but would fall in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0, cutting the lead to 4-3.
  • The Wolves would tie the match during the No. 4 singles contest at 4-4. Alvarez would fight hard, forcing a third set tie break after dropping the opening set. However, Alvarez would come up just short, falling in the tiebreaker, 10-4, setting up a winner-take-all final match in No. 1 singles.
  • Gilland would round things off for the Blue Jays in No. 1 Singles. After falling in the first set, Gilland would storm back, winning the second set to force an all-deciding tiebreaker. In a back-and-forth affair. Gilland would come up clutch, recording an ace to seal the tiebreaker, 11-9, and the match for USJ, 5-4.

QUOTABLE

"I'm very proud of how our team played today," said head coach Karen Piazza. "They've been working so hard in practice, especially for those tough moments under pressure. It's very rewarding to see it pay off today, as the match came down to a couple of tiebreakers to decide the outcome."

NOTES

  • The team of Gilland and Kerr fell to 3-6 on the night. As singles competitors, Gilland improved to 2-7 while Kerr also improved to 7-2.
  • With their victory, Garcia and Srivatsav improved to 5-2 in No. 2 doubles. The victory was their third in a row. Garcia moved to 3-5 in singles play with her victory.
  • Garcia was the lone Blue Jay to go a perfect 2-0 on the day.
  • Michaud and Webb moved to 3-4 at No. 3 doubles on the year after their victory.
  • Nemergut dropped to 0-4 in singles plat on the season.
  • Griffith moves to 0-1 in singles play after making her singles debut in 2022.
  • The Blue Jays defeated the Wolves for the second time this season, increasing its winning streak to five matches.

UP NEXT

Women's tennis returns to West Hartford for their final match of the 2022 regular season on Saturday, October 8, when they host Regis. Opening serve between the Blue Jays and Pride is slated for 12:00 p.m. on the Elizabeth Ferry Speer Tennis Complex.

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