DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a clash of two squads ranked in the top ten of their respective polls, the NAIA third-ranked Embry-Riddle women's team dominated Rollins College, the ninth-ranked team in NCAA Division II, 7-2, in a Thursday afternoon dual match at the Crotty Tennis Complex. With the win, the Eagles improve to 3-1 on the season while the Tars fall to 0-2.
The Blue and Gold jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead as the tandem of
Rocio Frej Vitalle and
Ekaterina Kamendova and the duo of
Kristina Marova and
Paola Montero each breezed through their doubles matches; both teams won, 8-1. At No. 1 doubles,
Yi Ching Chen and
Josefine Strom needed a few extra games, but they were able to make it a clean sweep for the Eagles, winning their match, 8-6.
Kamendova increased the lead to 4-0 for ERAU with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ashley Rosenberg at No. 3 singles. The match was clinched shortly thereafter when Montero finished off Bradleigh Lore in the No. 6 matchup, 6-2, 6-2.
Frej easily took the first set against Stefaniya Tkach at No. 3 singles, 6-1, but Tkach bounced back with an equally impressive 6-2 victory in the second set. Frej gathered herself and returned to form in the third set, dismissing Tkach in a quick 6-1 set.
Chen dropped the first three games of the match before rallying to win 12 consecutive games, taking a 6-3, 6-0 win over Lisa Loft on court one. Despite the match only lasting 15 games, Chen's match was the fourth to finish.
Strom battled back on court five after falling in the first set, 6-1, as she forced a third set with a 7-5 win in the second set. Strom held a 3-2 lead in the third set, but Callie Whitlock was able to respond, winning four of the final five games to complete a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 win, giving Rollins their first point of the day.
Marova and Elissa DeCampli played the most dynamic of all the matches; the first set of the their match lasted as long as the No. 3 singles match. Marova battled to force that set to a tiebreak and won it, 7-2, to take the first set, 7-6. DeCampli rebounded with a solid second set, winning 6-3 to tie the match. With all of the other singles matches completed and the dual match already decided, the two competitors decided their match with a 10-point third set tiebreak. Marova took an early 5-3 lead but DeCampli fought back to take an 8-5 lead. After Marova won two points on serve to pull within a point (8-7), DeCampli won two of the next three points to clinch the tiebreaker, 10-8.
The Eagles return to the court tomorrow afternoon as they face conference foe Southeastern at the Crotty Tennis Complex at 3:30 p.m.
