SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's tennis team posted the highlight of the season on Saturday when it traveled to the Capital Region for a Liberty League clash against Union. The Bombers earned their second victory of the spring in league play, overcoming an early deficit to edge the Dutchwomen in a thrilling 5-4 final. The win keeps IC's postseason chances alive at 2-4 in league play with the head-to-head win over Union elevating Ithaca into the sixth position in the league standings with just two matches to go.
Doubles
1. Tal Pezzuco/Paige Webster (UNION) def. Caroline Dunn/Kathryn Shaffer (ITHACA) | 8-1
2. Brianna Ruback/Alexandra Dyszewski (ITHACA) def. Megan Brown/Cathy Xing (UNION) | 8-5
3. Alex Greenberg/Samantha Siegel (UNION) def. Sara Steinberg/Shannon Wolfe (ITHACA) | 8-5
Singles
1. Brianna Ruback (ITHACA) def. Tal Pezzuco (UNION) | 6-3, 6-3
2. Megan Brown (UNION) def. Caroline Dunn (ITHACA) | 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
3. Kathryn Shaffer (ITHACA) def. Paige Webster (UNION) | 6-3, 6-1
4. Alexandra Dyszewski (ITHACA) def. Samantha Siegel (UNION) | 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Sara Steinberg (ITHACA) def. Cathy Xing (UNION) | 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Alex Greenberg (UNION) def. Rel Klein (ITHACA) | 6-0, 6-0
It was a bit of an ominous start to proceeding on Saturday morning at Union's tennis complex. The Dutchwomen jumped out to an early lead when Tal Pezzuco and Paige Webster bested Ithaca's senior grouping of
Caroline Dunn and
Kathryn Shaffer by an 8-1 margin. The loss put the Bombers in a 1-0 hole.
Although Ithaca got back to level terms with a win at second-doubles, it would be Union that exited the doubles session with the one-point lead in the team score. Junior
Brianna Ruback and first-year
Alexandra Dyszewski improved to 2-3 as a combo this spring with an 8-5 win over Megan Brown and Cathy Xing in the second position. Unfortunately, the result was cancelled out with Union's Alex Greenberg and Samantha Siegel responding for the hosts with an 8-5 win over sophomore
Sara Steinberg and first-year
Shannon Wolfe in the third slot.
The deficit grew to 3-1 early in the singles session when Greenberg defeated first-year
Rel Klein in consecutive 6-0, 6-0 sets. However, the Bombers sparked a comeback with wins in four of the final five matches to surpass Union for the clutch victory.
Ruback began IC's charge down the stretch with a win in the first-position against Pezzuco. She bested Union's netter in consecutive 6-3 sets to close the gap to 3-2. Shaffer followed with a convincing win over Webster 6-3, 6-1 to tie the match at 3-3.
Union responded with a win in the second lineup position. Megan Brown and Dunn locked in a ferocious battle in the opening set, which Brown ultimately edged out in a tiebreaker by a 7-4 margin. The Dutchwomen's netter rode the momentum during the second set, shutting out Dunn 6-0. The loss put Ithaca in a position where it needed to win the final two matches of the day to take the victory.
Steinberg came up with a big result at fifth-singles to level the match for the second time of the day. It was a tight battle against Union's Xing throughout. Steinberg took the opening set with a late break en route to a 6-4 win. The second set went to a tiebreaker, which IC's sophomore again made the clutch shots late in the 7-4 win.
It all came down to IC's rookie in the fourth-singles matchup. Dyszewski's match in a lot of ways was a microcosm of the overall match between the two sides. Siegel came out on fire with a 6-3 win in the opening set; however, Ithaca's netter rallied down the stretch. She dominated the middle set by a 6-1 score, before sealing the match for the visitors with a 6-2 win in the decisive third frame.
Ithaca returns to action tomorrow morning when it faces nationally-ranked Skidmore at 10:00 a.m.
