UDC Defeats Queens College in Historic 4-3 Victory
FLUSHING N.Y. – The University of the District of Columbia's women's tennis team defeated Queens College 4-3 in an intense battle to the finish, on Saturday afternoon at the Queens College Tennis Center.
This was a monumental win for UDC, as this was the first time in the Program's history that they've defeated Queens. The last time the two teams met was in the ECC Championship finals back in 2019, when the Knights defeated the Firebirds 4-3 to win the title. UDC also became the first ECC team in over two years to defeat Queens.
Mariona Franco and Claudia Bahamon took the first doubles win for the Firebirds at No.3 but the Knights went on to win at No.1 and 2 to take the lead 1-0 going into singles play.
Queens player Mariana Ling had to retire after an injury mid-set, tying the match 1-1. Laura Marie would then put the Firebirds in the lead with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No.5. Queens went on to take victories at No. 3 and 1 to take back the lead. A hard-fought match at No. 2 saw Franco defeat her opponent 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to tie up the score 3-3.
With tensions as high as ever, the Firebirds found themselves in the same position they were in the last two meet-ups they had with the Knights, a 3-3 tie with the match coming down to the last point. Only this time it was a different outcome in favor of UDC. Freshman Valentina Brienza came through with a major win at No.6, defeating her opponent 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-2, to finalize their 4-3 victory over Queens.
"The team and I are extremely happy with both wins this weekend," said Head Coach Mahaffey. "Especially after 18 months away from the competition. Today's win was a great accomplishment for the Women's Tennis program, but our team goal isn't just to beat Queens. We're working hard to qualify for the conference championships, win the conference championship and qualify for the National Championships. We will cherish this moment with a clear understanding that we still have work to do."
UDC (3-0, 2-0 ECC) is off next weekend but will return to conference play on Saturday, October 9th where they will host their first match on the new tennis courts against Molloy College.