COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Locked in a 3-3 tie with Moravian on Sunday, the Ursinus College women's tennis team turned to its singles depth to carry it to an impressive non-conference victory inside the Floy Lewis Bakes Center field house.
A 6-0, 6-0 rout by senior Christine Palazzolo at number six singles officially clinched the match for the Bears (7-2), who received strong performances from the second half of its individual lineup to separate from the Greyhounds (3-3).
Freshman Caitlyn Sorelle and junior Ariel Danziger rebounded from a tough loss at Franklin & Marshall on Saturday – their first of the season – to post an 8-2 triumph opposite Eiman Nazif and Lauren Steinert at number two doubles. Palazzolo and senior partner Robin Alsher edged past Kate Rennar and Emily Snyder, 8-6, at third doubles to help negate a 9-7 loss by juniors Aileen Bevard and Ashley Nguyen in the first doubles flight.
The doubles result marked the 50th career victory for Palazzolo, who became the seventh player in school history to achieve that milestone; Palazzolo is now tied with Jimena Talavera '12 for fifth on the all-time charts.
Danziger, meanwhile, joined all-time wins leader Breanna Bashaw '16 (100) as the only two in program history to record 70 overall victories; she also matched S.J. Seabra '16 for second on the all-time list with 39 doubles wins.
Sorelle's 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Skylar Oliwa at number two singles staked Ursinus to a 3-1 lead, but Nazif defeated Nguyen at number three and Eady claimed a marathon 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8) thriller with Bevard at number one to knot the match at 3. Bevard trailed 9-5 in the super tiebreaker before staving off three match points, but a winner by Eady on her fourth chance sealed the decision.
Danziger rolled past Steinert by a 6-2, 6-2 count at fourth singles before Palazzolo's decisive whitewashing, and Alsher eked past Rennar 6-3, 7-6 (4) to provide the final score.
The women's tennis team continues conference play at regionally ranked Swarthmore on Wednesday, March 29.