Weisberg Leads Women’s Tennis in Columbia Invitational

September 19, 2018

By Gigi Spear

Senior Whitney Weisberg led the Rams in this weekend’s Battle of the Big Apple. The Rams took two out of three matches in the Bronx. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)

A Battle of the Boroughs took place this weekend at the Columbia Invitational. The five boroughs, with the addition of Westchester, were the names of the singles draws, and Fordham’s women’s tennis team represented the Bronx well.

With a big win against Hofstra’s Ana Canahuate-Torres in the semifinals of the Westchester draw, senior Whitney Weisberg led the team this weekend before falling to LIU Brooklyn’s Ana Leonte in the finals.

“Whitney was a standout as she made it to the finals of her draw after battling through a long and difficult three set match,” fellow senior and captain Alexis Zobeideh said. “We really saw her playing well and persevering throughout the match.”

Senior Gianna Insogna and junior Maia Balce both bounced back from opening round losses with wins in consolation games. Balce defeated Hofstra’s Alejandra Ruffini in the consolation semifinals of the Manhattan Draw before falling to LIU’s Sasha Bollweg in the finals. Insogna played in the Queens Draw, defeating Hofstra’s Sarah Catherine-Herndon in the consolation finals.

Freshman Nicole Li beat Hofstra’s Hailey Feuer in the semifinals and Hofstra’s Romina Dolabany in the finals of the Staten Island Draw.

“Everyone played well, but we competed against better schools this year,” Zobedieh said.

In the doubles draws, Balce and Insogna teamed together to beat St. John’s Olivia Inclan Solis and Oceane Garibal in the quarterfinals before falling to Columbia in the semifinals of B doubles.

Bookends Nicole Li and Whitney Weisberg teamed up in the C doubles draw to defeat Harvard’s Chelsea Williams and LIU’s Clemence Krug in the quarterfinals before falling to host Columbia.

Senior Tatiana Grigoryan and sophomore Arina Taluyenko bounced back from an opening round loss to beat Hofstra in the consolation semifinals.

“It was a tough weekend but we’re excited to train hard to hopefully capture some titles at the West Point tournament in two weeks,” said Zobeideh.

The women’s tennis team will take the court next at the West Point Invitational Sept. 28-30.