Retrievers Sweep America East Weekly Tennis Honors - AmericaEast.com
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – UMBC freshman Lorena Valente (Florianopolis, Brazil/Corocao de Jesus) helped the Retriever women win their final two matches of the regular season to earn the female Tennis Player of the Week award while fellow Retriever rookie Adam Duprat (Bobignny, France) went undefeated over the week to capture the male Tennis Player of the Week honor for the week ending April 20.
Valente went 5-1 on the week in singles and doubles combined to help the Retrievers snap a two-game losing streak and end their regular season with two straight victories. Against George Washington, Valente and partner Barb Couto won the No. 3 doubles match to help UMBC earn the point. She then captured a singles win at the No. 3 spot. Against Delaware, Valente again pulled out both her singles and doubles matches at the No. 3 spots to help the squad claim a close 4-3 decision. Valente continues to hold the team lead in both singles and doubles records this spring. She is currently 15-5 in singles and 15-3 in doubles.
Duprat went undefeated over the week, leading the Retrievers to wins over Temple, 4-3, and Delaware, 6-1. He helped the squad capture the doubles point in both matches, claiming victories at the No. 2 position. At the No. 2 spot in singles, he posted a straight-set win over Temple before rallying for a third-set victory over Delaware. Duprat currently holds a team-leading 16-2 singles record. He has earned wins in 16 of his last 17 matches.
The Bearcat men remained ranked in the top 50 nationally after taking the week off. The squad is currently 47th. Binghamton junior Anna Edelman (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck North) climbed three spots in the singles national rankings, placing 120th this week.
Albany – The Great Danes fell in a close 4-3 decision to NJIT on Sunday. The squad lost the doubles point but avoided a sweep with an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles. Down 0-1 entering singles, Albany tried to rebound, but fell short, capturing only three singles victories. Junior Susan Ma (Parkville, Mo./Park Hills South) led the Great Danes with a straight set win at No. 2 singles while senior Caitlyn Crowley (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and junior Melissa Coughlin (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) captured wins at No. 4 and 6 singles. Albany then rebounded with a 7-0 sweep of crosstown rival Siena on Tuesday. Junior Livia Gherman (Zalau Salaj, Romania/Washington State/Colegiul National Silvania) led the Great Danes, going undefeated on the day at the No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles. Albany returns to action when it hosts conference rival Hartford on Sunday, April 25.
Binghamton – The Bearcat men took the weekend off and will return to action on Saturday, April 24 against conference foes Stony Brook and Hartford in their last matches of the regular season. The Binghamton women blanked the Great Danes, 7-0, in their only match of the week. The Bearcats improve to 13-2 on the season with the victory. The women next play Stony Brook and Hartford in their final matches before the America East Championship.
Boston U. – The Terrier women took the weekend off after falling, 6-1, to Boston College on April 13. The squad will end its regular season with a home match against Hartford. The Boston U. men fell to Army, 6-1, in their only match of the week. Sophomore Bill Kring (Charlton, Mass./Colgate) claimed the men’s only victory of the day at No. 5 singles, rallying back from a set down to win in a 10-point tiebreaker played in lieu of a third set. The Terriers next take on Hartford on April 24.
Hartford - The Hawk men and women each suffered a pair of losses over the week, falling first to Bryant, 7-0, and then Marist, 7-0. The Hawk men face Boston University and Binghamton in their final dual matches of the regular season. The women’s squad will face three conference opponents before the America East championship, taking on the Terriers (April 23), the Bearcats (April 24) and the Great Danes (April 25).
UMBC – The UMBC women’s team (14-7) snapped a brief two-game losing streak by defeating George Washington (8-10), 5-2, at home on Saturday morning, April 17. UMBC won the doubles point as the No. 2 and 3 teams posted convincing victories. Junior Emily Mannix (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) and sophomore Carmen Jackman (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) triumphed, 8-3, while senior Barbara Couto (Teresopolis, Brazil/ Centrode Ensino Moderno) and countrywoman Lorena Valente pulled out an 8-5 victory. The Retrievers put the match away as Valente, Couto, and Jackman provided the hosts with a 4-0 lead. Valente defeated Dorota Lysienia at the No. 3 position, 6-0, 7-5, while Couto dropped only four games in a 6-3, 6-1 win over Zoe Krohn at the No. 6 slot. Jackman clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Mimi Hamling in the No. 2 spot. UMBC completed the regular season on Tuesday, April 20 with a 4-3 win over Delaware (12-6) and heads into the America East Tournament with a 14-7 record. The UMBC men’s team defeated a strong Temple University team, 4-3, on April 14 to improve to 15-5 on the campaign. In doubles play, UMBC’s No. 3 team of senior Chris Meyer (New Market, Md./Urbana) and junior Mwali Phiri (Yonkers, N.Y./Tyler JC) won the deciding match, coming out on top of a 9-8 (3) decision. Freshman Adam Duprat gave UMBC a 2-1 lead with a 6-1, 6-4, win over Andrey Morozov at No. 2 singles and Phiri increased the advantage to 3-1 with a 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles. Temple would trim their deficit to 3-2 with a win at No. 4 singles, but senior Fredi Voorman (Talinn, Estonia/Audentes Private) secured the match for the Retrievers with a three-set, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 come-from-behind win against Kacper Rams at number three. UMBC improved to 16-5 with a 6-1 win over Delaware on April 20 and concludes the regular season vs. George Washington on April 24.
Stony Brook – The Seawolf men fell, 5-2, to St. John’s on Monday. Seniors Jon Epstien (Silver Spring, Md./Hebrew Academy) and Halvar Dil (Amersfort, Netherlands/U. Miami Online/Drake), captured a doubles win for the squad at the No. 1 spot, but the Seawolves dropped the doubles point after suffering close losses at the No. 2 and 3 positions. Dil then captured a victory for the team in singles, earning a three set come-from-behind win at the No. 3 singles slot. Freshman Palash Tiwari (Delhi, India/Bhai Parmanand Vidya Mandir) claimed Stony Brook’s only other victory of the day with a three set win at No. 6 singles. The Seawolves will play Binghamton in their final regular season match on April 24. The Stony Brook women had the week off, but will return to action against the Bearcats on Saturday, April 24.