ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's tennis team (1-1, Empire 1-0) opened up Empire 8 Conference play with a dominant 7-2 win over the Soaring Eagles of Elmira College on Wednesday evening, marking the first win under Head Coach
Jordan Crouch.
Senior
Inda Gillett (South Kortright, NY/Delaware Academy Central) and junior
Tori Pellegrino (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) kicked off the match with an 8-2 win at #1 doubles. They were followed closely behind by another win at #2 doubles by
Lauren Boshart (Oswego, NY/Oswego) and
Nurila Kambar (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Republic Physics and Mathematics School) 8-3. The Soaring Eagles nabbed a win at #3 doubles 8-7 (7-5), bringing the match within one at the end of doubles play.
Gillett grabbed AU's third point with a 6-0, 6-2 win at #4 singles over Cheyanne Holwell. Kambar won another match at #3 singles 6-2, 6-2 giving AU the 4-1 advantage. Pelligrino sealed the match with the fifth win at #1 singles, 6-0, 6-2.
Amber Smith (Prattsburghm, NY/Prattsburgh) won 6-0, 6-3 at #5 singles while
Miranda Sakala (Olean, NY/Olean) won by forfeit at #6 singles. Elmira won the final match at #2 singles, but the Saxons earned their first win in Head Coach
Jordan Crouch's career, 7-2.
"I'm proud of how our team played today," Crouch said. "We fought hard and came out the other side with our first win of the season. I can't wait to get back out tomorrow and build upon this result."
The Saxons have a quick turnaround, traveling to Olean, NY to take on the Panthers of Pitt-Brad at 5PM on September 5, 2018.