Tennis starts the right way

[alum73]

SUPER SUNDAY FOR GREAT DANES; TWO WINS IN ONE DAY

Albany, NY. The University at Albany women's tennis team officially opened their 2015 spring season with identical 5-2 wins, downing Siena in the morning and Providence in the afternoon at Sportime in Schenectady, NY. Claiming unbeaten records on the day were Dajana Ognjenovic and Alba Sala with two singles and two doubles wins and Averie Bowen with two doubles wins and an exhibition singles win. Close behind were co-captain Kirsten Scott and Chassidy King who narrowly dropped one doubles match while winning all their others.

Against Siena, the Danes swept the doubles in convincing fashion (1-0 Danes), then recorded quick wins from Sala (#4), Scott (#3) and Ognjenovic (#1) to clinch the match (4-0, Danes). Co-captain Cheryl Kukkonen (#2) and Chae Bean Kang (#6) just came up a bit short, losing in third set tiebreakers. Sophomore transfer Chassidy King (#5), however, prevailed in her third set tiebreaker to give the Danes their 5th point. Final: 5-2, Danes!!!

The Danes bolted for a quick lunch, then got back on the courts for the afternoon match vs. Providence College.

Although the final result was similar, the Danes had to work a bit harder for their wins. They won the doubles point, but it was more hotly contested. Ognjenovic and Bowen got the first win (#3) by charging from behind to take the final three games and the set. They were followed shortly by the veteran team of Kukkonen and Sala (#2) who used their experience to pull out a close win and clinch the doubles point. The relatively new team of Scott and King (#1) came up just short, losing their set in a tiebreaker. (1-0, Danes.)

In singles, Scott (#3) and Sala (#4) again led the way with quick wins. Scott put on a commanding display of first-strike tennis using her serve and return to create an early advantage in lots of the points. Sala used her tennis intelligence on big points to win 6-1,6-2 in what otherwise appeared to be a pretty evenly balanced match. (3-0, Danes.) Kukkonen (#2) found herself in a big hole, down a set and 3-0, when she changed strategy and won the next 4 games. But her big-hitting opponent came back to finish the match, 6-4. (3-1, Danes.)

UA got the match-clincher from King (#5). She blasted her way to a quick 5-0 lead, lost her focus a bit and found the match tied 5-5, then upped her intensity again to finish off the first set 7-5. The second set was equally close, but King prevailed, 6-4. (4-1, Danes.)

Ognjenovic (#1) seemed poised for a routine win, up a set and 5-2. But her Friar counterpart did not fold and just kept looping balls back. The Great Dane junior had a few match points slip from her grasp and suddenly found herself at 5-5. To Ognjenovic's credit, she was then able to look past those missed opportunities and focus on the task at hand, finally finishing off the match in a tiebreak for the second set and the match. (5-1, Danes.)

Last to finish in both matches, Kang (#6) showed flashes of consistency, athleticism and of patient, aggressive play. Both singles matches went to tiebreakers in the third set and both ended in narrow losses, but encouraging performances nonetheless. (5-2, Danes.)

Next the Danes take on Syracuse at Drumlin Farms TC in Syracuse, Sat., Feb. 7th, 11:00a.m. The following day they play Marist, Sunday, Feb. 8th, 2:00pm at Sportime, Schenectady.

Coach Graham, "This was a good opening day for the team. It was nice to get a couple of wins!! Overall we played pretty well considering these were our first matches. Syracuse is going to be a good test for our squad. We played some of their players in a fall tournament, so we know they are a strong team AND that we can play at that level as well."

RESULTS

UALBANY 5 SIENA 2

Doubles:

1. Scott-King (UA) def. Sakai-Dunbar (S) 6-3*

2. Kukkonen-Sala (UA) def. Fukamachi-Singh (S) 6-4

3. Ognjenovic-Bowen (UA) def. Braz-Macaluso (S) 6-3

*=Clinched doubles point for Great Danes

Order of finish: 3,1,2.

Singles:

1. Dajana Ognjenovic (UA) def. Rina Sakai (S) 6-1,6-3$$

2. Mitsuki Fukamachi (S) def. Cheryl Kukkonen (UA)7-5,6-1, 1-0 (10-3)

3. Kirsten Scott (UA) def. Allysa Singh (S) 6-1,6-2

4. Alba Sala (UA) def. Jessica Macaluso (S) 6-1,6-0

5. Chassidy King (UA) def. Julia Dunbar (S) 2-6,6-3,1-0 (10-5)

6. Erika Reagan (S) def. Chae Bean Kang (UA) 7-6(4),5-7, 1-0 (10-8)

$$=Clinched match for UA.

Order of finish: 4,3,1,2,5,6

UALBANY 5 PROVIDENCE 2

Doubles:

1. Prinos- Burgess (P) def. Scott-King 7-6 (5)

2. Kukkonen-Sala (UA) def. Pitocco-DeLuca 6-4*

3. Ognjenovic-Bowen (UA) def. Cyterski-Zangari 6-4

*=Clinched doubles point for Great Danes

Order of finish: 3,2,1.

Singles:

1. Ognjenovic (UA) def. Nicole Cyterski 6-1,7-6 (5)

2. Alana Prinos (P) def. Kukkonen 6-2,6-4

3. Scott (UA) def. Jenn DeLuca 6-0,6-3

4. Sala (UA) def. Olivia Hogan 6--1, 6-2

5. King (UA) def. Emma Burgess 7-5,6-4$$

6. Hannah Zangari (P) def. Kang 7-6(4), 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)

$$=Clinched match for UA.

Order of finish: 3,4,2,5,1,6

UAlbany records: 2-0 (overall); 0-0 (AmericaEast)

Next match: Saturday, Feb. 7, 11:00 a.m. @ Syracuse

=======================

Next Home match:

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2:00 p.m.

vs.

MARIST

(at Sportime, Schenectady)

ADMISSION FREE!!!

Hope to see you there!!

GO GREAT DANES!!!

Gordon Graham

Head Coach of Women's Tennis

 

[haggyland]

What the heck? I am on that e-mail list and never received that.

I had to resort to going to the Loudonville website to see the scores last night.

 

Good start. Looking ahead, beating SBU will still be a challenge.