After a long season, the women’s tennis team played in the Atlantic 10 Championship at the USTA national campus in Orlando, Florida. Entering the competition, the Rams were once again shorthanded due to injuries. One welcome addition to the team was junior Valeria Deminova, who was injured but match fit and able to return to the lineup. This meant that the Rams could only send five players, making it even harder for them to advance as far as possible.

After finishing the regular season with a 5-4 record, Fordham received the fifth seed and its first match in the Championship was against 12 seed Saint Joseph’s University. Even though the Rams were shorthanded, they beat Saint Joseph’s with a scoreline of 4-1 to advance to the second round. 

They automatically forfeited one of the doubles matches, but were able to still claim the point by winning the other two double matches. The partnership of senior Arina Taluyenko and Deminova won first doubles with a scoreline of 7-5. In second doubles, junior Nicole Li and freshman Eleni Fasoula won their second doubles match in a convincing 6-1 match to secure the doubles point for the Rams. Taluyenko, Li, and Deminova continued their form by winning their single matches, while St. Joseph’s’ solitary point came by forfeit. 

The Rams’ next match was the following day against the fourth seed George Washington University. Unfortunately, this is where the season came to an end. The Rams were swept 4-0, dropping the doubles point in the two matches that were completed. The Colonials got critical wins in all three completed single matches, ensuring that Fordham had no way of making a comeback.

There are some things to note as this season like no other finally drawn to a close. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 concerns and injuries, Fordham never had its full team. However, they still completed the regular season and improved their record in comparison to the year before, where they finished 4-7. That is one among many growths that should be recognized.

That being said, do not count the Rams out next year. Assuming that college sports increasingly return to a sense of normalcy, there will be more talent and depth for the team to make a stronger push toward an Atlantic 10 Championship.