The Lehman College women's tennis team (6-9 Overall, 5-3 CUNYAC) wrapped up their CUNYAC portion of the regular season schedule and clinched a quarterfinal round home match in the upcoming conference tournament as they defeated the John Jay College Bloodhounds (1-11 Overall, 1-7 CUNYAC) by a score of 9-0 Tuesday afternoon at the APEX Tennis Courts.
The victory solidified the No. 4 seed and a home match for the Lightning in the upcoming 2008 CUNYAC Tournament, a match that will take place on Tuesday afternoon, October 21st, against No. 5 seeded College of Staten Island.
In Lehman's dismissal of the Bloodhounds, the Lightning jumped out to an early lead in doubles competition. At No. 1 doubles, it was Evauna Neville and Aurora Peters teaming up to down the Bloodhounds' combination of Nicole Toro and Lauren Mallon by a score of 8-3. No. 2 doubles saw Lehman's Gabriela Harewood and Natalee Smith defeat John Jay's duo of Wilesca Belhome and Jessica Rodriguez by a score of 8-0, and the Lightning's Mina Jeung and Dalia Rodriguez were victorious at No. 3 doubles, turning back the Bloodhounds' Yanira Robinson and Cynthia Molina, 8-1.
When played switched over to singles, the Lightning remained all business as they took all six sets. In an exciting No. 1 singles contest, Neville outlasted Toro 4-6, 6-0, (10-6). At No. 2 singles, Peters held off Mallon 6-2, 7-5. Harewood, Smith, and Jeung tallied wins over Belhome, Rodriguez, and Robinson at No's 3, 4, and 5 singles, respectively, and in a classic No. 6 singles contest, it was Amaia Liriano defeating Molina 6-3, 7-6.
The Lightning, since starting the season with a 1-6 record, have now gone 5-3 in their last eight matches and have turned a corner. Following Lehman's victory over the Bloodhounds, Head Coach Zack Davis gave his thoughts on his team's recent surge.
“We've been playing up to our potential, and we've really made some impressive progress this season,” Davis said. “Now we have one more match remaining with the Bears on Saturday, and that match will serve as a tune-up for the tournament. We're looking forward to seeing what we're made of.”
The Lightning will play their regular season finale Saturday afternoon at the APEX Tennis Courts as they'll welcome the Bears of St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn to the Bronx, with match time scheduled for noon.
