BRISTOL, R.I. - The Simmons College women's tennis team was defeated by host Roger Williams University today, 8-1, in Bristol, R.I. in the season opening match for both teams. The Sharks fall to 0-1 on the season, while the Hawks improve to 1-0.
Simmons' lone point came following a win at first singles by sophomore Jessica Schroedl (Staatsburg, N.Y.) over Roger Williams' senior Kathryn Hughes (Westford, Mass.). Hughes won the first set, 6-2, but Schroedl battled back to tie the match with a 6-4 second set victory. Schroedl claimed the win with a hard-fought 11-9 decision in the third set to close out the match and prevent the shutout at 8-1.
Schroedl paired with senior Olivia Lakes (Dorchester, Mass.) at first doubles, but fell to Hughes and senior Julia Akerman (Greenwich, Conn.), 8-1. Simmons' junior Paola Rios (Miami, Fla.) and first year Gail Tynkov (Edison, N.J.) were defeated, 8-2, at third doubles by the Hawks' duo of senior Ali Stankiewicz (Brunswick, Maine) and sophomore Allie Grinavic (North Attleboro, Mass.), before the Roger Williams' tandem of senior Gabrielle Riley (Barnstable, Mass.) and first year Heidi Martin (Scituate, Mass.) turned in an 8-4 victory at number two doubles over the Sharks' sophomore pairing of Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam/Saint Joseph Preparatory (Mass.)) and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) to give the home team a 3-0 lead heading into singles action.
Akerman cruised past Johnson, 6-0, 6-0, at second singles for the Hawks, before sophomore Taryn Roche (Greenlawn, N.Y.) downed Rios, 6-1, 6-0 at number four singles to earn the deciding point of the dual match and take a 5-0 lead. Riley earned a 6-1, 6-1 triumph at sixth singles over Simmons first year Celia Speth (Deerfield, Mass.), who was making her collegiate debut. Grinavic won at fifth singles for Roger Williams over Tynkov and Stankiewicz tallied the final point of the day for the Hawks with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over junior Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine) at number three singles.
The Sharks return to the court on Monday, September 4 when they host Gordon College at Daly Courts for an 11:00 a.m. start, while Roger Williams hosts Bentley University on September 5 at 4:00 p.m.