The women’s tennis team successfully put out the Dragons’ fire in Sanela Kunovac’s coaching debut.
Following several close matches, the Quakers ultimately overcame Drexel, 6-1.
The night started off with an exciting matchup in the No. 1 doubles.
Although the Quakers duo of freshman Jules Rodin and sophomore Emily Wolf lost their match, they hardly went down without a fight. The final game ended with five tiebreakers before the two were eventually extinguished by the Dragons’ Zineb Hilali and Emma Brook, 9-8.
Meanwhile, victories in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots ensured that the Quakers (1-0) would walk away with the point. Junior Alexa Ely and freshman Charlotte Ezratty defeated Drexel’s Elise Leizenovich and Gozde Unkaya 8-5, while sophomore Daniela DePaoli and newcomer Emma Whitefield topped the Drexel duo of Melissa Bohm and Lara Hamad, 8-1.
But for Rodin and Wolf, it looked like the two were in for a long night as each dropped the first set of their singles matches.
Fortunately for the Quakers, the two were able to bounce back to win their second sets. And in an exciting turn of events, both Rodin and Wolf were able to pull out victories in the third set tiebreaker.
“We’re focusing on the physical aspect — making sure that the girls are fit — and by doing that they are more confident on the court,” Kunovac said.
Although Drexel’s Elise Leizenovich topped Daniela DePaoli, 2-1, Penn’s Alexa Ely, Emma Whitefield and Charlotte Ezratty successfully shut out the Dragons in straight sets.
With new coaching and only four returning players, the relatively young women’s tennis team is off to a strong start.
Kunovac was “very pleased” with the Quaker’s performance.
“They refused to throw in the towel and instead actually did quite the opposite and upped the ante even more and really, really left it all on the court,” the Bosnia native said.
And in a positive turn of events, the Red and the Blue showed no signs of “first game jitters.”
“I feel that this is a great way for them to get into the season,” Kunovac added. “And hopefully they will continue and build upon this as well.”
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