On Friday, the Fordham women’s tennis team went up against the fearsome Columbia University Lions where they were handed their second loss of the season. This comes after Fordham had a dominant 4-0 shutout against Long Island University just a week prior. Unfortunately, the team could not keep that magic going as they were bested in almost all factors.

It wasn’t all bad, as the team showed signs of life throughout, leading head coach Michael Sowter to state: “Great fight from the team today, the match was much closer than the score indicates.” Sowter certainly believes in the heart of this team, and for good reason as the team won multiple sets against a top Ivy League program such as Columbia.

Singles play was certainly not as dominant as it had been in recent weeks. As the score would project, individual players did not win any of their matches on Friday. Graduate student Valeriya Deminova lost in three sets, while junior Eleni Fasoula and graduate students Carlota Casasampere Escoda and Lindsay Hung had their third sets go unfinished. Both senior Avery Aude and sophomore Lorraine Bergmann were swept in two sets. The scores were relatively close overall, but Columbia were just a step above the Rams.

In doubles play, the team of Deminova and Aude dropped the first set in a close one 5-4 and did not finish the second. Unfortunately, both teams of Casasampere Escoda and Hung and Fasoula and Yang dropped their sets on the day. All around, it was competitive, but Fordham just could not get it done. Coming up short against Columbia should not be considered a large blemish on the team’s record. They now sit at 5-2 with tough opponents ahead, but expect to remain firmly in the top half of Atlantic 10 teams. This year’s roster is an extremely talented and experienced group that will look to build on this loss and grow from it.

Up next, Fordham will take on Yale University this Saturday, in what will surely be an interesting match. Yale sits at 6-5 but has many big wins against other Ivy League programs this season. It will be intriguing to see how the Fordham Rams bounce back against another tough opponent this season.