NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women’s tennis opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 5-2 win over App. State on Saturday afternoon.
“That was a tough Sunbelt battle,” Head Coach Dominic Manilla said. “App state was a little beat up in a few spots and their players responded to the challenge in a strong manner. Today took a lot of grit on our end, the conditions were unfavorable and we were put in a position to battle not only our opponents but the elements and ourselves as well. The match was won with our mental toughness and desire to prevail under tough circumstances. I tip my hat to our squad for digging deep and coming out on top.”
No. 3 Marina Markina and Kira Matushkina opened doubles play for ODU with a win over Alexi Cleveland and Riley Collins (6-3), and while App. State’s Olwyn Ryan-Bovey and Maledi Manyube would down No.1 Sofia Johnson and Lidiia Rasskouskaia (6-4), No. 2 Ulyana Romanova and Victoria Matasova defeated Ruby Broadbent and Savannah Dada-Mascoll (7-5) to put the Monarchs on the board.
Romanova continued to add to ODU’s lead by besting No. 4 Broadbent (6-3, 6-1) to begin the singles matches. Teammates No. 6 Markina and No. 1 Johnson followed suit after beating respective opponents Collins (6-1, 6-3) and Dada-Mascoll (7-5, 6-2) to put the Monarchs one point away from claiming the match. No. 5 Markina did just that by downing Cleveland in a tiebreaker set (4-6, 6-3, 7-5), though Mountaineers’ Ryan-Bovey and Manyube continued their matches against Rasskouskaia (7-5, 7-6) and Matushkina (1-6, 7-6, 6-4) respectively to end the match at 5-2 in Old Dominion’s favor.
The Monarchs return to the courts tomorrow to take on SBC opponent Marshall at 10 a.m. in the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.