ORLANDO, Fla. – The Ithaca College women's tennis team returned to the courts at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus on Thursday afternoon for its final match of spring break, as the Bombers took on cross-divisional foe in Division II Bloomsburg. IC had just enough to score a big victory, defeating the Huskies 5-4. The win helped Ithaca conclude its three-match stretch in the Sunshine State with a 2-1 record, while it improved the team's record to 3-4 on the year.
 
The Bombers were able to get some big performances to score the win over their Division II opponent. Ithaca took two triumphs in the doubles session, while it was able to split the six singles bout to narrowly edge the Huskies. It was IC's second 5-4 win at the USTA National Campus this week, after the team dispatched Stevens by an identical score on Tuesday.
 
Doubles play proved to be critical for the Bombers. For the first time this season Ithaca was able to take a lead into singles with a pair of victories in its three doubles tilts to open the match. After initially falling behind 1-0 in the match when newcomer tandem of Sara Steinberg and Parley Hannan dropped an 8-4 decision in third-doubles, IC battled back with a pair of gutsy victories.
 
Sophomore Brianna Ruback and junior Taylor Ginestro leveled the match at 1-1 with an 8-6 win over Bloomsburg's second-doubles grouping of Giovanna Bonito and Chloe Berridge. Back in the lineup after missing yesterday's match, junior Kathryn Shaffer paired with junior Caroline Dunn for a tiebreaker win over the Huskies' Cassidy Calimer and Vitoria Nery in the first singles-bout. With the matchup tied at 7-7 through 14 games, the tilt went to a tiebreak with IC's duo prevailing 7-3 to earn the crucial point.
 
Ithaca turned to the top of its lineup to ultimately seal the win in singles. The Bombers took three of the Top-4 matchups to complete the come-from-behind win.
 
Dunn got IC on the board first in singles, pushing Ithaca back into the lead briefly at 3-2 in the team score. She bested Giovanna Bonito in straight-sets by a 6-4, 6-1 final. The lead did not last long, as Bloomsburg took the fifth-singles match to re-tie the match at 3-3, setting up an exciting conclusion.
 
Ruback provided the spark Ithaca needed. After grinding out a 7-5 decision in the opening set of her top-flight match against Cassidy Calimer, she broke Calimer three times during the second set to shutout the Huskies top singles netter 6-0. Ginestro followed that up with a thrilling three-set tilt against Isabella Sarquiz to clinch the match. IC's junior accomplished the clinch in comeback fashion after dropping the opening frame 4-6. She answered back with a 6-4 win in the second set, before triumphing 10-5 in a razor-thin margin in the third-set super-breaker to complete the comeback. It was the second time this spring that Ginestro won after dropping the opening set.
 
The following are the full results from today's action.
 
Doubles
1. Kathryn Shaffer/Caroline Dunn (ITHACA) def. Cassidy Calimer/Vitoria Nery (BLOOMSBURG) | 8-7 (7-3)
2. Brianna Ruback/Taylor Ginestro (ITHACA) def. Giovanna Bonito/Chloe Berridge  (BLOOMSBURG) | 8-6
3. Cassie Wentz/Catherine Garrity (BLOOMSBURG) def. Sara Steinberg/Parley Hannan (ITHACA) | 8-4
Singles
1. Brianna Ruback (ITHACA) def. Cassidy Calimer (BLOOMSBURG) | 7-5, 6-0
2. Vitoria Nery (BLOOMSBURG) def. Kathryn Shaffer (ITHACA) | 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 10-5
3. Caroline Dunn (ITHACA) def. Giovanna Bonito (BLOOMSBURG) | 6-4, 6-1
4. Taylor Ginestro (ITHACA) def. Isabella Sarquiz (BLOOMSBURG) | 4-6, 6-4, 10-5
5. Chloe Berridge (BLOOMSBURG) def. Sara Steinberg (ITHACA) | 2-6, 7-5, 10-6
6. Cassie Wentz (BLOOMSBURG) def. Parley Hannan (ITHACA) | 6-1, 6-2
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, March 24, when it jumps back into Liberty League play with a home match against Skidmore. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.