Albany's Gherman and UMBC's Adewumi Claim Weekly Tennis Honors - AmericaEast.com
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – University at Albany junior Livia Gherman (Zalau Salaj, Romania/Washington State/Colegiul National Silvania) led her squad to a perfect 3-0 record over the weekend to capture the female Tennis Player of the Week award while UMBC sophomore Joe Adewumi (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) led the Retrievers to a perfect record on their Texas spring break trip to garner the male Tennis Player of the Week honor for the week ending March 21.
Gherman led the Great Danes to three straight wins over the weekend to claim her first weekly honor. She rallied back from a set down to post a win at the No. 1 singles spot in Albany’s 6-1 victory over Holy Cross. Gherman also claimed a win at the No. 1 doubles spot with junior partner Susan Ma (Parkville, Mo./Park Hills South). On Saturday, Gherman battled back in the third set to claim a key win for the Great Danes in their 4-3 win over Sacred Heart. Gherman is 5-2 in singles this spring.
Adewumi went undefeated in both singles and doubles during the Retrievers’ spring break trip in Texas. He didn’t drop a game in his straight set win against Prairie View at the No. 5 singles spot. Adewumi also posted a doubles victory at the No. 3 spot to help UMBC sweep the doubles point. Against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, ranked eighth in the Texas region, Adewumi claimed a straight set win to help the squad clinch a tight 4-3 match. He currently holds a team-leading singles record of 13-2 on the season.
The Binghamton Bearcats, who first climbed into the national rankings at No. 63 on March 9, are now ranked 74th after falling from the rankings last week.
Albany – The Great Danes claimed three wins over the weekend, improving to 6-1 in dual matches on the season. Albany first defeated Holy Cross, 6-1, on Friday. The squad started the match by winning the doubles point with victories at the top two doubles spots. The Great Danes then captured five of six singles matches with Livia Gherman pulling out a three-set victory at No. 1 singles. Albany then clinched two close 4-3 victories over Sacred Heart and Marist. Against Sacred Heart, the Great Danes dropped the doubles point, but rebounded in singles, posting wins at the No. 2 and 5 spot. Up 2-1, Albany held on for the win with three-set victories at the No. 1 and 6 singles spots. On Sunday against Marist, the squad got off to a quick start, capturing the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and 3 doubles. The Great Danes clinched the win with strong performances from the bottom of their line-up. Senior Caitlin Crowley (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and junior Melissa Coughlin (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) posted decisive wins at No. 4 and 6 singles while freshman Sarah Iannone (North Vancouver, British Columbia/Seycove Secondary School) pulled out a close three-setter at the No. 5 spot. Albany next plays conference foe UMBC on March 28.
Binghamton – The Bearcat men improved their win streak to eight with a pair of 6-1 victories over James Madison and Old Dominion over the weekend. Binghamton captured the doubles point to start the match against James Madison with victories at the No. 2 and 3 spots. Sophomore Gilbert Wong (Hong Kong/Diocesan Boys School) then quickly captured the Bearcats first singles point with a straight set victory at the No. 2 slot. Binghamton proceeded to drop only one match at the No. 5 singles slot. Against Old Dominion, the men swept the doubles point. Junior Sven Vloedgraven (Lochem, Netherlands/Isendoorn College) captured the men’s first singles win of the day at the No. 1 spot before the team swept No. 2-5 singles. Binghamton will face Penn today (March 24). The Binghamton women rebounded from their two-match losing streak by blanking Villanova on Sunday. The Bearcats started the day with a sweep of doubles with junior Lauren Bates (Buffalo, N.Y./Kenmore West) and sophomore partner Emma Leibowicz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) not dropping at game at the No. 1 slot. Bates led the team in a sweep of singles, not dropping a game at the No. 1 spot. The Bearcats lost only seven games as they picked up all six singles matches in straight sets. The team next heads to Fairleigh Dickinson on March 26.
Boston U. – The Terrier women split a pair of matches over the weekend, defeating Penn, 6-1, before falling to #28 Princeton, 7-0. Boston U. started off the match against Penn by winning the top two doubles matches with senior captain Francine Whu (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Technical) and sophomore Monika Mical (Stalowa Wola, Poland/Penn State) pulling out the No. 2 doubles match in a tiebreaker. Whu and Mical then posted singles wins at the No. 2 and 5 spots, respectively, as the Terriers captured five of six singles matches. Against #28 Princeton on Sunday, the team suffered its first loss in five matches. Boston U. lost the doubles point, dropping the top two spots while sophomores Petra Santini (Sibenik, Croatia/Gimnazija Za Dopisno Obrazovanje Birotehnika) and Inayat Khosla (Chandigarh, India/Vivek) hung on for an 8-7(0) win at the No. 3 spot. With the momentum in their favor, the Tigers swept all six singles matches. Boston U. next travels to Virginia on March 27-28 and will face #71 William and Mary and #23 VCU. Over the weekend, the Terrier men also split a pair of matches at home, blanking Holy Cross, 7-0, before losing to Sacred Heart, 5-2. In their first match of a four-match homestand, the Terrier men swept Holy Cross, starting the match by claiming the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and 3 spots. The team then swept singles with freshman Josh Friedman (Los Angeles, Calif./Milken Community) pulling out a third-set victory at the top singles spot. On Sunday against Sacred Heart, the Terriers got off to a slow start, dropping the doubles point. Sophomore Regis Chang (Mattapoisett, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) and Friedman pulled out victories for the Terriers, scoring the team’s two points. The squad next hosts UConn on March 26.
Hartford – The Hawks remain winless in dual matches, blanked in their final spring break matches. Both squads fell to Morehead State, 7-0. The women completed their spring break against North Dakota, losing, 7-0. The Hartford women return to action on March 23 when they host Fairfield while the men next travel to Sacred Heart on March 26.
UMBC - The UMBC men won both matches on their spring trip in Texas and improved to 12-3 on the season. The Retrievers rallied to upset Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-3, in a match that started on Tuesday, March 16 and was completed on Wednesday, March 17. The Islanders were ranked as high as 48th this season and have been to the NCAA Tournament the last six years. UMBC trailed, 3-0, and Adam Duprat (Bobigny, France), playing at No. 3 singles, dropped the first set, 6-1, before rallying to win, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. The momentum swung when UMBC’s No. 4, 5 and 6 singles took the court and all three players cruised to victory, giving UMBC a hard-earned 4-3 win. On Monday, UMBC won all nine matches to blank Prairie View A&M, 7-0. Chris Meyer’s (New Market, Md./Urbana) match at No. 1 singles was the most difficult, but the senior prevailed, 6-4, 4-6 (10-7). The Retrievers are not scheduled to compete again until March 27 when they entertain George Washington. The UMBC women completed a three-match sweep during spring break matches in Texas with a 5-2 win at UT-San Antonio on March 19. The Retrievers have now won four straight matches overall and head back to Baltimore with a record of 8-4. Earlier in the week, UMBC blanked Prairie View A&M, 7-0, on March 15, and edged Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-2, on March 16. In the latter match, only singles were played. Senior Alice Chen (North Potomac, Md./Quince Orchard) Lorena Valente (Florianapolis, Brazil/Coracao de Jesus) junior Emily Mannix (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) and senior No. 6 Barbara Couto (Teresopolis, Brazil) recorded victories in straight sets. UMBC will host St. Joseph’s today (March 24) to open a five-match homestand.
Stony Brook – The Seawolf women next host Marist on March 27 while the men travel to St. John’s on Saturday.