This Saturday, Fordham’s Women’s Tennis rolled onto their native Hawthorn-Rooney Tennis courts in search of their eighth straight win. The match, which happened to be their first all-season at their actual home court (they’ve played 14 road matches and two home matches inside the Cary Leeds Center), was the squad’s Senior Day. The Rams honored their graduating class of graduate students Franny Shea, Raffaela Alhach, Demi Jhaveri and Camila Baeza, along with seniors Eleni Fasoula and Rose Hu and Director of Operations Rhett Bailey.
Fordham matched up against St. Thomas Aquinas College for the occasion, where the 12-5 Spartans sought to break the Rams’ unbeaten streak. Fresh off a spring break road trip to Texas and Louisiana, Fordham picked up right where they left off, demolishing their competition in doubles. Fasoula and Hu paired to deliver a 6-1 win at first, while freshman Julianne Nguyen teamed up with Shea to make a 6-0 sweep of their foes at second. The same Rams who once lost the doubles point regularly have become a force, while the Fasoula/Hu tandem has been particularly strong as the season’s waned on.
In singles, Fasoula opened play with a swift victory in third singles, 6-1, 6-2. At first, Alhach put together a dominant performance against fierce competition, taking the point by way of a 7-5, 6-3, two-set win.
After STAC took second singles to earn their first point, Shea clinched the Ram’s eighth win in a row. The grad student overwhelmed her opponent, 6-0, 6-4. Baeza got the nod at sixth singles, winning 6-2, 6-2. Baeza seems to have gained the trust of coach Michael Sowter of late, earning her first singles draw of the season after winning at doubles against Southern University.
The match of the day came from the racket of Jhaveri, though. At fifth singles, she went to three sets versus Elita Silins. Jhaveri started strong with a 7-5 win before falling 4-6. Jhaveri served the finishing blow in the tiebreaking set, taking an enthralling 12-10 win and putting a bow on a day whose celebratory and victorious spirit epitomized the Rams’ season.
Twenty-four hours later, the Rams found themselves in Amherst, Mass. for an in-conference tilt against the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Minutewomen were voted fourth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, whereas the Rams polled second; UMass entered play at 10-7, while Fordham stood at 12-5. In what may be a preview of an A-10 semi-final or final matchup, the Minutewomen sundered the Rams’ hot streak.
UMass entered doubles on the front foot and reversed Fordham’s ongoing trend of success in two-on-two play, taking both finished matches 6-3. The Rams could not regain their footing in singles, where Danielle Hack and Thamonpan Jonglettra each earned UMass points by taking down Alhach and Hu convincingly. At #3 singles, Fasoula found more success but ultimately lost to Ella Faessler in a thrilling 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 3-6 match. The Rams’ lone bright spot was pre-season all-conference member Anlin Xie. The freshman rallied to win a three-set battle at fourth singles, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, giving the Rams their lone point. Fifth and sixth singles went unfinished despite play remaining close early on, and the match went into the books 4-1 in UMass’ favor.
It was the first in-conference loss for Fordham, who looks to get back in the win column this Saturday against fellow A-10 competitor, Saint Joseph’s University. The Rams will again cherish an opportunity to have home-court advantage, seeing as the squad has been on the road for 15 of 18 contests. The Rams plan to celebrate their former players on Saturday, with the Alumni Day game being the last of the regular season; as April presses on, the A-10 championship looms near.
