UDC Women’s Tennis Earns Thrilling, 5-4 ECC Victory Over Roberts Wesleyan
WASHINGTON, DC – With the match tied 4-4 and only one singles match remaining, junior Peerada Looareesuwan earned a clutch, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 come-from-behind victory at the No. 2 spot to give the Firebirds a 5-4 victory in a thrilling East Coast Conference match on a chilly fall Saturday afternoon in the nation's capital.
UDC (6-3, 5-2 ECC) had to forfeit matches at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles due to an insufficient lineup, but managed to win both of the doubles matches and three of the five singles matches actually played. Roberts Wesleyan fell to 4-6 (2-4 ECC) with today's loss.
Already trailing 2-0 due to the insufficient lineup, Maxime Duijst (Biology – Valkenswaard, Netherlands/Pleincollege Sint-Joris) and Laura Dimante (Business Management – Riga, Latvia/Rigas Teikas) teamed up for an 8-1 victory at No. 1 doubles, and Looareesuwan (Computer Science – Bangkok, Thailand/Valdosta State) and senior Alicia Gallard (Business Management – Blaison-Gohier, France/Joachim Du Bellay/Shorter University) earned an 8-3 victory at No. 2 to force a tie.
Freshman Laura Rojas (Civil Engineering – Bogota, Columbia/Jackson State) was defeated, 6-3, 6-3 by Roberts Wesleyan's Camilla Linhart at No. 4 for the first completed singles match to put the Redhawks ahead, 3-2. Gallard answered for the Firebirds, finishing off a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles over Julia Vitale to force a 3-3 match tie.
Next, Dimante came storming back after losing her first set to beat Natalia Cardona, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. However, Fatima Ouattara tied the match once more, 4-4 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Duijst at No. 1, setting the stage for Looareesuwan's heroics at the No. 2 spot.
Next up, UDC will host Chowan on October 11th at 11 a.m.