On Wednesday afternoon, the men’s and women’s Loyola tennis teams swept the visiting Howard University at the Richard McClure Tennis Center. The men fought for a 4-3 win and the women rolled with a 7-0 sweep.
The women set out onto the court with unparalleled concentration and in turn won all of the early breaks in each doubles match to gain the crucial early lead. Kateri Martin ‘21 and Abigail Thornton ’21 at No. 1 doubles would clinch the first doubles match for the Greyhounds 6-0, taking down Nicole Hutchison and Christina Joynes without dropping at game all set. Lin Robertson ‘20 and Alexandria Agee ‘20 at No. 2 doubles would maintain their steady lead throughout their match and win 6-3, clinching the critical doubles point to put the Greyhounds in the lead going into the opening singles matches. Sandra Aguirre ’22 and Abby Decker ‘22 at No. 3 doubles would fall to Aria Ragas and Dominique Jackson of Howard after losing a few key breakpoints.
Martin would begin the series of singles wins for the women with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Yassmine Khiri at No. 1 singles. Thornton would top Hutchison 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2 singles, fighting from behind in the match to eventual victory. Decker would knock off Kendall Addison at No. 3 6-4, 7-5, rallying to victory through many long points. Robertson took the point for No. 4 singles, topping Joynes 6-0, 6-2. Aguirre would clinch her match at No. 5 singles, defeating Ragas of Howard 7-5, 6-0. Finally, Agee would complete the 7-0 sweep with her win over Jackson 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 6 singles slot.
Aguirre, in discussion of the unifying team spirit the Greyhounds brought to every match, said she was confident going into her singles match, even though she and [ Decker] had lost their doubles match.
“We had that motivation to fight for the win over Howard. The team spirit has been amazing, the women have an 8–2 record and we are all really pumped for the rest of the season. Everyone has been super supportive of each other,” she said.
Similarly, the men would clinch the critical doubles point to give them a lead early in the match against the men’s Howard team, with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Edik Pribitkin ’22 and Benny Glezer ’22 fought for a 6-4 victory over Cole Gittens and Sagar Raju in the No. 2 doubles slot. Brian Hoffarth ’19 and Kyle Gower ’20 defeated Kyle Martin and Devaughn Blackburn of Howard to secure the doubles point at No. 3. Skylar Gates ’22 and Matt Fitzmaurice ’20 would fall for No. 1 doubles to Karim Shokeir and Roger Lyn, fighting in a close match at 6-4.
Howard would take the singles match towards the top of the lineup, posting wins at No. 1 singles, No. 2 singles, and No. 3 singles. However, the Greyhounds would rally with wins at No. 4 singles, No. 5 singles and No. 6 singles to clinch the winning point 4-3 over Howard. Hoffarth fell to Lyn in the No. 1 slot 6-2, 6-1. Gates would fight in a three-set match at No. 2 but would fall to Gittens 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, and Glezer was defeated by Shokeir at No. 3 singles 6-4, 6-3.
Gower would begin the winning streak for the men through beating Martin in the No. 4 slot 6-1, 6-2. Fitzmaurice claimed victory over Blackburn 6-0, 6-2. Pribitkin fought for 6-2, 6-4 win over Raju at No. 6 singles.
This pair of wins gives the women a record of 8-2 and the men a record of 5-6 as the Greyhounds move into the late stages of the spring season.
Catch the Greyhounds in action again Saturday March 30 as they travel to take on La Salle University and Villanova University on Sunday March 31.
Feature Image: Craig Chase
