ITHACA, N.Y. (October 5, 2008) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's tennis team dropped its third contest of the year to break its eight-match win streak as the Ducks fell to Ithaca College on Sunday in a conference matchup that was decided by a 6-3 count. Freshman Mine Bese pulled out the only singles win for Stevens and added a victory in doubles play with freshman Morgan Scalzi as the Bombers extended their conference win margin to 25-straight matches. The Ducks are 8-3 on the year and finished fourth in the Empire 8 with a 5-3 ledger.
The Ducks jumped ahead 2-1 after a solid doubles performance. Senior Whitney Bender and sophomore Allyson Kingman tagged up to take down senior Natalie Jenereski (Butler, Pa.) and sophomore Agata Kubik (Czestochowa, Poland), 8-6 at first singles. Sophomores Melanie Cohen (Ambler, Pa.) and Melissa Nunez (Rockaway, N.J.) defeated the sophomore-freshman combination of Kendra Appleheimer and Nicole Portner, 8-6 at No. 2 doubles. The tandem of Scalzi and Bese upended freshmen Becky Campbell (Chadds Ford, Pa.) and Katrina Erdahl (Gibsonia, Pa.), 8-6 at third doubles.
The Bombers (7-0, 6-0) had a strong singles surge that allowed them to pick up their six Empire 8 victory of the season. In first singles, Bender was taken down by junior Devra Reiman (Maplewood, N.J.) 7-5, 6-0, while Kingman dropped her second singles match of the season (9-2) to Kubik by the scores of 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. Portner fell in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2 to senior Alyssa Jaffe (Montvale, N.J.) at third singles. Bese defeated Cohen for the only Ducks singles victory in a hard-fought battle that featured two tiebreakers and super tiebreaker as the card read 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5) and 10-8. Appleheimer dropped a close match to Jenereski 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (2) at fifth singles. Scalzi lost her third singles match of the season in a 6-2, 6-3 loss to junior Sarah Hollis (Fairfield, Conn.) at No. 6 singles.
Stevens will return to play on Wednesday when it hosts SUNY New Paltz at 4 p.m. in Hoboken, N.J. at the Stevens Tennis Courts.
