Firebirds Soar Past St. Thomas Aquinas, 6-1; Earn 7th Straight Win
SPARKILL, NY – The University of the District of Columbia women's tennis team earned a decisive, 6-1 victory over East Coast Conference foe, St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday afternoon at Riley Family Tennis Courts.
The Firebirds improved to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in league play with their 7th straight win today. The Spartans lost their second straight match to fall to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the ECC.
UDC won all three doubles matches and five of the six singles matches.
In doubles play, senior Anastasia Khomyachenko and junior Estefania Castrillon earned a 6-2 win at No. 3 to start the Firebirds on the right foot. UDC's No. 2 pair of sophomore Anastasiia Danylova and freshman Joanna Skrzypczynska then followed with their own, 6-2 win to clinch the match doubles point for the Firebirds.
Sophomore transfer Simoné Pärn and junior transfer Marija Milic then won their No. 1 doubles match, 6-3 for good measure. UDC's No. 1 and 2 pairs - Pärn and Milic, and Danylova and Skrzypczynska – are a combined, 10-0 vs. ECC opponents this season.
The Firebirds went on to dominate singles play, clinching the match victory after winning the first three consecutive matches. Milic was the first, with a resounding, 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 over Anna Ristova, then Danylova at No. 4 with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Chiara Dittrich, and then Pärn with the decisive 4th point via a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 vs. Katarina Lopez.
UDC also won the next two completed singles matches at No. 3 and No. 6 before losing the final result at No. 5. Skrzypczynska earned a 6-4, 6-4 win vs. Amelie Meyers at No. 3, and Khomyachenko bested Ulyana Kitcmanuk, 8-3 at No. 6.
The Firebirds, riding their seven-match win streak, have a week to prepare for the six-time reigning ECC champions, NYIT. The Bears visit the nation's capital for this conference showdown on Fri., Oct. 19 at 12 p.m.