HOLDEN, Mass. – The Worcester State University women's tennis team opened up 2016-17 play with a 6-3 victory over Wentworth on Thursday (Sep. 1) at Wachusett Regional High School. The Lancers start the season out with a 1-0 record, while the Leopards open with an 0-1 record.
"Such a great start to the season," said Worcester State head coach Courteney Blais. "The team came out strong in doubles and that set us up for success in singles."
Worcester State swept the doubles lineup as Shelby Jankins (W. Brookfield, Mass.) and Alexis Silk (Greenfield, Mass.) earned the first point for the Blue and Gold with an 8-6 win over Wentworth's Caitlyn Briggs (Lee, Mass.) and Sam Webb (Duxbury, Mass.). The second doubles matchup featured Worcester's Lauren Taylor (Attleboro, Mass.) and Nathalie Khafaga (Auburn, Mass.) who defeated Olivia DeLuca (Dracut, Mass.) and Emily Jodoin (Burillville, R.I.) 9-8 with a tiebreaker score of 7-3. Rounding out the third point for Worcester State in the doubles matches were Rachel Green (Worcester, Mass.) and Isabel Badeau (Cumberland, R.I.).
Wentworth got their first point of the evening when Veronica Monteiro (N. Andover, Mass.) shutout Worcester's Badeau with two 6-0 victories. The Leopards closed the gap to 3-2 when Briggs defeated Jankins 6-4, 6-4. Though, the Leopards were only able to score one more point on Emma Jurkiewicz's (Andover, Mass.) victory on Green, as the Lancers closed out with singles victories from Taylor, Khafaga, and Silk.
"Nathalie played a solid match at singles, and freshman Lauren Taylor had the deciding win in her first collegiate match," commented Blais.
"It was a late night," added Blais. "After the match had been decided, Alexis Silk played past sunset and won in a tie breaker for the second set even though we could barely see the ball."
The Lancers are scheduled for another home match next Tuesday (Sep. 6) when they host Roger Williams at Wachusett Regional High School for 3:00 p.m. The Leopards next matchup is against Endicott College on Saturday (Sep. 3) at Regis College.
Singles
Caitlin Briggs (WIT) def. Shelby Jankins (WOR) 6-4, 6-4
Lauren Taylor (WOR) def. Olivia DeLuca (WIT) 6-4, 7-5
Alexis Silk (WOR) def. Emily Jodoin (WIT) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
Nathalie Khafaga (WOR) def. Sam Webb (WIT) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
Emma Jurkiewicz (WIT) def. Rachel Green (WOR) 1-6, 6-2, 6-0
Veronica Monteiro (WIT) def. Isabel Badeau (WOR) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
Shelby Jankins/Alexis Silk (WOR) def. Caitlyn Briggs/Sam Webb (WIT) 8-6
Lauren Taylor/Nathalie Khafaga (WOR) def. Olivia DeLuca/Emily Jodoin (WIT) 9-8 (7-3)
Rachel Green/Isabel Badeau (WOR) def. Ellen Butts/Veronica Monteiro (WIT) 8-6