Tennis Drops 4-3 Decision to BIG EAST Foe Connecticut
3/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall tennis team came up short in its first of two BIG EAST matches this weekend, falling 4-3 to the visiting UConn Huskies.
With the loss, the Pirates drop to 5-9 on the season and 1-1 in BIG EAST matches.
With sophomore Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) sidelined for the match, reigning BIG EAST Women's Tennis Player of the Week Chloe Sher (Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong) teamed with senior Courtney Kilarski (Roseville, Calif.) in the number one doubles position.
Playing together for the first time all season, Sher and Kilarski fell to UConn's top team of Jen Learmonth and Maxene Weinberg, 8-3.
Entering the day, regular partners Portela and Sher were had posted seven consecutive victories.
With the win, Learmonth and Weinberg extended their own winning streak to five matches.
SHU rallied to nail down the doubles point by taking the next two matches.
In #2 doubles, Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) and Elizabeth Verow (Barnt Green, England) cruised to their fourth win in their last five outings, easing past Alexa Gregory and Lucy Nutting, 8-1.
Freshmen Anna Guryanova (Moscow, Russia) and Maria Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia) were victorious in the number three slot, outlasting Marie Gargiulo and Abby McKeon, 8-6, for their third win over a UConn pairing in as many meetings in 2011-12.
In singles, Sher continued her impressive run of play, dropping only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 defeat of Jen Learmonth in the number one position.
In Portela's absence, the remainder of the lineup moved up a slot from their normal position.
Verow, who had been victorious the last two times she was penciled in at #2, was downed by UConn's Gregory, 3-6, 1-6.
Junior Karina Cordero (Maracay Estado Aragua, Venezuela) could not overcome Maxene Weinberg in their #3 matchup, ultimately falling 1-6, 5-7.
Shoemaker came into the match having come out on top in six of her last seven appearances but fell in straight sets to Lucy Nutting, 2-6, 2-6 in the fourth position.
In the fifth slot, Rodriguez scored for the Pirates by dispatching Abby McKeon in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
The freshman jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set, only to see McKeon draw even at 5-5. Rodriguez held strong and took the first set in a tiebreak, paving the way to her eighth win in nine matches.
In #6 singles, UConn junior Lauren Wilmarth snapped Guryanova's four-match winning streak, downing the SHU freshman, 7-5, 3-6.
The Pirates are right back in action on Sunday, March 25 when they take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. The match will take place at the Haworth Country Club in Haworth, N.J.
First-serve is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
CLICK HERE for directions to the Haworth Country Club.
Seton Hall 3, Connecticut 4
Singles
1. Chloe Sher (SHU) def. Jennifer Learmonth (UCONN), 6-1, 6-0
2. Alexa Gregory (UCONN) def. Elizabeth Verow (SHU), 6-3, 6-1
3. Maxene Weinberg (UCONN) def. Karina Cordero (SHU), 6-1, 7-5
4. Lucy Nutting (UCONN) def. Madison Shoemaker (SHU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Maria Rodriguez (SHU) def. Abby McKeon (UCONN), 7-6 (5), 6-2
6. Lauren Wilmarth (UCONN) def. Anna Guryanova (SHU), 7-5, 6-3
Doubles
1. Learmonth/Weinberg (UCONN) def. Courtney Kilarski/Sher (SHU), 8-3
2. Shoemaker/Verow (SHU) def. Gregory/Nutting (UCONN), 8-1
3. Guryanova/Rodriguez (SHU) def. Gargiulo/McKeon (UCONN), 8-6
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