The youth and inexperience of the Stony Brook women’s tennis team were evident yet again, as it was thoroughly outclassed this past weekend.
The Seawolves (2-13, 1-3 CAA) made their way to New Jersey to face the NJIT Highlanders on Friday (15-4) before hitting the road once again to play the Hofstra Pride (8-10, 3-3 CAA) on Saturday. Stony Brook met a similar fate in both matches, falling 6-1 and 5-2 to NJIT and Hofstra, respectively.
Stony Brook got off to a rough start to the weekend on Friday, as first doubles duo Mia Palladino and Elena Lobo-Corral were quickly dispatched by Laura Wipfli and Irene Cocero 6-1. The tandem of Kristi Boro and Debby Mastrodima was up next in second doubles, but the pair ended the match unfinished, down 5-1.
In third doubles, Sara Annamaria Medved and Cornelia Bruu-Syversen were tabbed as the final pair for the Seawolves, who lost 6-2 to Sandra Dzhambazov and Sofia Pinedo.
Despite struggling all year long in doubles, head coach Thiago Dualiby remained steadfast in his faith in the team to improve.
“I think we came a long way from last semester in terms of on-court positioning, high percentage plays, and technical skills,” said Dualiby in a postgame game interview with The Statesman. “We need more time together and need to keep putting in intentional work in our doubles. The results will come by themselves in time.”
The singles results were much of the same story, as Palladino put in a noble effort, winning her first set 7-6 before losing 6-2 and 6-4 in the final two sets of the final singles match to Wipfli. In second singles, Lobo-Corral was the only Seawolf who won a point on the day, as she made quick work of Dzhambazov in 6-1 and 6-2 sets.
In third singles, Darian Perfiliev was bested by Pinedo 6-3 and 7-5. Similarly, Bruu-Syversen was on the wrong side of two 6-3 sets, losing her match against Salvi. In fifth singles, Medved was put away in two sets against Menendez. Carmen Victoria Villalba Rubio, in the sixth and final singles match, failed to pick up a singles point, losing 6-4 and 6-0 to Feyza Aydin.
Against the Pride on Saturday, it started on a higher note for Stony Brook, as Palladino and Lobo-Corral teamed up in first doubles to beat Kaitlyn Ferguson and Dianela Rodriguez 6-2. The other Seawolves did not have similar luck, as Perfiliev and Mastrodima narrowly lost 7-6 off a 7-1 tiebreaker in second doubles.
The third doubles match headlined Bruu-Syversen and Medved, as they fell 6-1 to Lea Forste-Dinell and Ava Veneziano to hand Hofstra the doubles point.
Singles play played out similarly as Friday, as Palladino continued her slump in singles play, losing in 6-4 and 6-3 sets to Forste-Dinell. Lobo-Corral flipped the script in second singles, coming away with a victory, winning 6-3 and 6-0 in two sets against Rodriguez. Perfiliev and Bruu-Syversen, both down in their respective matches, retired due to scoring. Medved, in fifth singles, was handed another loss by Sabira Mohamed in 6-1 and 6-4 sets. In sixth and final singles, Mastrodima joined Lobo-Corral in the winners’ column, beating Veneziano in two sets by scores of 6-4 and 6-0.
With a win in doubles and two wins in singles, Lobo-Corral was the bright spot amongst a wash of a weekend for the team. Dualiby sang only praise for her regarding her improvement.
“Elena’s progress has been evident in the last months, she is one of the hardest-working people I have ever met,” said Dualiby. “It is not easy to compete at number two singles as a freshman and I am proud of the way she took up the challenge.”
Now the losers of eight straight, Dualiby stressed the need for momentum going into the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) postseason tournament.
“It would be important to finish with a win to reinforce the progress we have been making,” said Dualiby. “More importantly, it would be great to see everyone playing with a lot of trust and grit in their games right before going into the conference tournament.”
Before the tournament, to finish off the regular season, the Seawolves will play their first home game of the season against the Queens College Knights. Matches are slated to start at 2 p.m.
