Ithaca Takes Down Stevens 7-2 on Opening Day
Box Score (PDF)
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's tennis team got its 2016-17 season up and running on Sunday, as it welcomed Stevens Institute of Technology for a pivotal early season Empire 8 clash at the Wheeler Tennis Courts. The Bombers stormed past the Ducks by a 7-2 final score to get off to an excellent start to the fall campaign.
"I thought the team played very well," head coach
Bill Austin said. "It was a tough way to open the season, facing a team as talented as Stevens, but I thought we really rose to the occasion and handled it well."
Ithaca took two-of-three doubles flights to take an early 2-1 lead in the match. IC continued its strong play in singles action, taking five-of-six matchups to account for the winning 7-2 final score.
Haley Kusak picked up right where she left off last season, winning both her doubles and singles matchups on the day. The reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year swept her way through conference competition last fall. Kusak opened the day by pairing with sophomore
Caroline Dunn for a hard-fought 8-5 victory against Stevens' Alexis Connor and Isabella Calandra in the top-flight doubles match. She went on to defeat Connor 6-1, 6-0 in first-flight singles play.
Sunday also brought the debut of talented freshman,
Brianna Ruback, who made a strong impression in her first taste of collegiate tennis. Although her doubles tandem with sophomore
Taylor Ginestro fell in a back-and-forth 8-5 matchup in the second flight, she rallied for a 6-0, 6-0 sweep over the Ducks' Victoria Piskarev in second-flight singles, at the time extending the Bombers' lead to 3-1.
"Both Haley and Brianna had tough matchups," Austin continued. "The final score of their singles matches was not entirely indicative of the length and quality of the points they played. Both competed well and earned each and every point."
The returning combo of
Caroline Dunn and
Kathryn Shaffer got off to strong starts to what promises to be a breakout year for the talented sophomore duo.
After teaming with Kusak for a doubles win, Dunn outlasted a scrappy match from Stevens' Katrina Guido to take the third-flight matchup in three sets. She bested Guido 10-4 in a third-set super-breaker to secure her first singles victory of the season.
Shaffer combined with
Maddie Overholt for an 8-6 victory in third-flight doubles, before cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in her fifth-flight singles matchup against Isabella Calandra.
Jodi Grosberg also got in on the winning act, securing a pivotal point with a 6-3, 6-0 win over the visitors' Sydney Zoretic in the fourth-flight showdown.
The win sets the stage for what promises to be a strong conference-title push for the Bombers this fall.
"We have lots of positives to take from this early match," Austin concluded. "We were happy with how we competed and look forward to getting to work on some of the things we did not do as well this afternoon. Overall, it's our goal to continue to improve throughout the season."
The Bombers return to action on Wednesday, September 7, as they hit the road for the first time to square off against Utica College in an Empire 8 clash. The match is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m.