Quinnipiac University
Niagara
QU Women's Tennis Travels to Upstate New York for Matches Against Niagara and St. Bonaventure
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
What's On Tap?
The Quinnipiac women's tennis team hits the road to Upstate New York for two matches on Saturday and Sunday. Leading off the week, the Bobcats will face MAAC foe the Niagara Purple Eagles at 5 P.M. followed by a match on Sunday on their trip home against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies beginning at 2 P.M.
Scouting the Purple Eagles
Niagara comes into its first matchup with Quinnipiac this season with a 5-6 record and are an impressive 2-0 early in MAAC play. The Purple Eagles are 2-3 in their last five matches, falling to IPFW 5-2 in their last match on Friday, March 27. Maria Ortiz and Ashley Ta lead the Purple Eagles with seven wins, going 7-8 and 7-9 respectively. Ta has competed mainly at No. 2 singles, going 5-4, while Ortiz has shuffled through the middle of the lineup but its 3-2 at No. 4 singles. No. 3 Paulina Velasquez is 6-8 overall but is 6-3 in dual matches. Ortiz and Velasquez have teamed up in dual matches to go 4-2 as the primary No. 1 doubles team for the Purple Eagles. Stella Peisakhova and Brooke Briseno are the only other doubles team to play as many matches together, going 2-5 at No. 2 doubles.
Scouting the Bonnies
The Bonnies come into Sunday's match with a 5-8 record overall and are 0-1 in A-10 play. St. Bonaventure has alternated wins and losses in the last four matches and are 3-2 in their last five. The Bonnies fell to IPFW last time out in a 6-1 loss on Friday, March 27. Mariam Skhirtladze leads St. Bonaventure in singles wins with a 9-7 record as she has been an impressive 9-3 in dual matches at No. 4 singles. Fatya Amairi is 7-10 with a 6-6 record in No. 1 singles while No. 3 Dominique Mortier is 7-12 overall and Marisa Brossard is 7-5 and has competed mainly at No. 2. Mara Martinez-Santori and Brossard are the top doubles team, going 9-3 as the No. 1 pairing.
Last Time Out for the Bobcats
The Bobcats picked up their first conference victory of the season as they defeated the Manhattan Jaspers, 7-0. The Bobcats won all three doubles matches and all seven singles matches in the sweep of the Jaspers. Sydney Young (Austin, Texas), Jacqueline Raynor (Garden City, New York) and Rachel Horton (Stamford, Connecticut) each won two individual matches.
I Wear Red for Alysha
At the Bobcats home match on Tuesday, March 31 at 3 P.M., the women's tennis team will be hosting a match in memory of her sister, Alysha, who passed away from Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome in November. There will be a heart-healthy booth run by the Yale-New Haven Cardiology Unit at the match, and the team will also be selling shirts and bracelets to donate money to The Heart Beat's Children's Society of Calgary. Fans unable to make it to the match can purchase T-Shirts through this link.
How Sweep It Is
For the second time this season, the Bobcats swept an opponent by a score of 7-0. The other sweep for the Bobcats was Sept. 23 against the Hartford Hawks in which they won every match against the Hawks. Last season, the Bobcats swept six matches, including five matches by a 7-0 score with four of them coming against MAAC opponents.
Sydney Young Player of the Week
Young was named the MAAC Women's Tennis Player of the week for her performance in the week of March 16-23. Young is the second straight Bobcat to take home the award, following up Raynor from the week before. This past week, Young won three matches for the Bobcats. The week started off with a non-conference match with the Iowa State Cyclones in which Young won her No. 5 singles match in straight sets. Despite a cancelled match with the Bryant Bulldogs on Friday, March 20, Young dominated her two matches against the Manhattan Jaspers, with one win coming in doubles 8-1 with Horton and a straight set win in singles.
Undefeated in the MAAC
Since joining the MAAC prior to the 2013-14 season, the Bobcats have not lost a match to a MAAC opponent. The Bobcats were 10-0 last season, including a perfect 8-0 regular season conference record. This season, Quinnipiac has won its only conference match, pushing its conference winning streak to 11 games.
Almost There
Ariana Launie (Milton, Massachusetts) picked up two more wins this week against the Jaspers to push her career win total to 98, just two shy of 100 career wins. Launie is seeking to become the third active member of the 100-win club and 19th in program history.
What a Pair
Raynor and Michelle Dassa (Marlboro, New Jersey) picked up their 71st career victory together as they have continued their brilliant doubles pair together. Raynor is 16-5 in doubles this season with 87 career doubles wins while Dassa is 14-5 in doubles and has 78 doubles victories in her career.
The Next Generation
Sophia Dzulynsky (Miramar, Florida) and Young have also been racking up wins with great frequency, as Dzulynsky has 60 career wins while Young is just behind her at 58 wins. The two have also been neck and neck in wins this season, as Dzulynsky has 18 wins and Young has 17.
MAAC Preseason Poll
The Bobcats were selected to repeat as MAAC Women's Tennis Champions as they received all nine first place votes to command 81 points in the MAAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll. Last season, the Bobcats cruised to their first conference championship in their new conference. The Bobcats then faced the Stanford Cardinal in the NCAA Tournament, but fell in the first round.
Up Next
The Bobcats will return home on Tuesday where they will continue conference play when they host the Fairfield Stags at 3 P.M. at the QU Outdoor Tennis Courts.
Players Mentioned
