FLUSHING MEADOW, N.Y. – Needing every point the team could muster in a Tuesday night down in Queens, the Manhattanville University women's tennis team outlasted Baruch 4-3 in a non-conference tilt at the U.S. National Tennis Center. Manhattanville improves to 2-0 with the win, the first time the Valiants have won two straight matches to open a season since 2004.
The Bearcats took the upper hand with two of the three doubles victories. The Valiants opened the night strong as
Adrianna Filippelli (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) and
Addison Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services) made quick work of Jacqueline Moreno and Lucia Sanchez, 6-0, on the No. 2 court. Baruch would not let Manhattanville get by so easily on the rest of the flights, as
Maria Gutierrez (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) and Mikahlia Grant fell 6-2 to Margaret Kensinger and Malika Khaknazarova in No. 3s before the Valiant's top pairing of
Amaya Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services) and
Jenifer Lalman (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) were bested by Aishika Yadav and Maria Calvo Prado on the show court, 7-6 (7-3).
Having to battle back from losing the doubles point, the Valiants took four of the six singles flights to hold off the Bearcats and head home as winners. Baruch jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Yadav bested
Amaya Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services) 6-0, 6-1 in the top flight, but Manhattanville was able to tie things up by winning the next two matches to finish. Lalman took down Doyeong Lee 6-0, 6-1 on the No. 4 court while Filippelli moved past Sanchez, 6-0, 6-4, in No. 2 play.
With the Bearcats' Kensinger winning the No. 6 flight over Grant 6-2, 6-1 and Gutierrez winning a three-setter over Moreno in the No. 5 play (2-6, 6-3, 10-5), the match hung on the result of
Addison Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services) and Calvo Prado in No. 3 play. Ortiz stood tall when all was said and done with a 6-2, 6-3 victory as the Valiants are off to the best start to a season in more than two decades.
Up Next
The Valiants are slated to return home on Thursday to take on John Jay at 4 p.m., weather permitting.
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