By Gio Annatelli and Anders Jorstad - STAFF WRITERS
The Hofstra Pride men’s and women’s tennis teams downed the Loyola Greyhounds Sunday afternoon in Baltimore, Md. The men won in a close 4-3 match, while the women took the victory 5-2.
The mens’ day came down to a decisive point that gave Hofstra the lead via a doubles tiebreaker victory in a third doubles match by senior Ari Richman and junior Leonardo Pires.
Niko Vulinovich and Beau Wills completely dominated for the Pride, as they shut out Loyola’s Greg Olesnycky and Jordan Kuchta, 8-0.
Loyola then returned the favor to the Pride as Reid Burch and Connor Pietrak completely blanked sophomores Ricky Hendler and Stuart MacLeod. Richman and Pires then defeated the Greyhound’s Alex Castro and John Ferruzzi, 8-7 (3) in the third doubles. This win proved to be crucial, as it gave Hofstra the 1-0 lead going into singles play.
Hofstra and Loyola then split the singles matches, 3-3. Hofstra took the first three matches with victories from Wills, Richman and Vulinovich, all in straight sets. Loyola then took the next three matches, also all in straight sets.
The Pride improved to 4-3 on the season, and will be back in action on Friday at home to take on Wagner College at noon.
On the women’s side, Hofstra split matches this week, falling at the hands of Towson for the Pride’s first loss of the season by a score of 7-0 on Friday, but defeating Loyola on Sunday by a 5-2 score.
The Towson loss was the first conference match of the season, and a surprising blowout considering Hofstra’s success so far this season.
The Pride was unable to get anything going in the match, as only junior singles player Sarah Bowen came away with a set victory.
Hofstra bounced back with a solid victory against Loyola, coming away with the 5-2 win.
Only singles players Giulia Leone and Bianca Posa – who has yet to win a singles match this season – failed to record a point for Hofstra. Bowen, Carmen Pestano, Louise Lopez and Bianca Derrick each won in straight sets over their singles opponents.
Hofstra is now 5-1 overall and 0-1 in CAA play after the matches this week. The women’s team will join the men against Wagner College on Friday at the Hofstra Outdoor Tennis Center.