LUDLOW, Mass. – Competing in its final match of the fall season, the Bryant University women's tennis used some late-match heroics en route to an exciting 4-3 victory over Siena College on Saturday at the Ludlow Tennis Club.
The Bulldogs were forced to play shorthanded due to an injury, and were nearly on the ropes – down 3-1 at one point – but showed tremendous resiliency while wrapping up the fall season in style.
With both teams starting with singles play, sophomore Stephanie Smyers (Pittsburgh, Pa.) started the afternoon with a rousing victory against Danielle Crill by a 6-1; 6-0 margin.
After that first match, Siena opened up a commanding 3-1 lead in match scoring after Josleen Sandhu downed Claudia Hidalgo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) and Cassie Braz did likewise against McCabe. The Saints then tacked on another singles victory at the No. 3 spot, with Devlin-Ann Ammendola (Massapequa, N.Y.) dropping a tough 6-2; 6-4 match to Brittany Filip.
But the Bulldogs did not back down, as junior Lucy Bird (Hamilton, New Zealand) started the rally with a key victory in the No. 4 spot. After a tight first set, the New Zealander cruised in the final set for a 6-4; 6-0 victory over Jessica Macaluso.
It all came down to Marcela Brandao (Santo Andre, Brazil) in what was quite possibly the most exciting match of the day. The sophomore had to pick up the victory to keep the Bulldogs alive, and was paired against Carly Holloway in the No. 2 spot. After losing the first set by a break, Brandao returned the favor, breaking Holloway in the clinching game of that set to force a tiebreaker. With all eyes on her, Brandao was able to escape with a 10-7 win in the tiebreaker, evening the match score at 3-3 heading into doubles play.
With no time to rest, Brandao paired up with Smyers to defeat Holloway and Macaluso, 8-5, to put Bryant on top.
The two remaining doubles matches wound up going the distance, as Bird and Hidalgo took an early 3-0 lead against Sandhu and Nicole Ross. But the Siena pair battled back after winning a break, but the Bryant duo kicked things into gear, as Bird was dominant in front of the net, as the pair battled back en route to an 8-6 victory, sealing the doubles point and icing the match for the Bulldogs.
At the same time, senior Kate McCabe (Barrington, R.I.), who stepped into the lineup as a replacement due to an injury, teamed up with Ammendola for another nailbiter, but it was the Bulldogs coming away with another tight victory. The pair fought back from a two-game deficit to win their No. 3 Doubles match, 9-8 (3).
For continuing coverage of Bryant University women's tennis, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.
Results (winners in bold)
Singles
1) Claudia Hidalgo vs Josleen Sandhu 6-2, 6-0
2) Marcela Brandao vs Carly Holloway 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
3) Devlin-Ann Ammendola vs Brittany Filip 6-2, 6-4
4) Lucy Bird vs Jessica Macaluso 6-4, 6-0
5) Stephanie Smyers vs Danielle Crill 6-1, 6-0
6) Kate McCabe vs Cassie Braz 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 5,1,6,3,4,2
Doubles
1) Hidalgo/Bird def Sandhu and Nicole Ross 8-6
2) Brandao/Smyers def Holloway and Macaluso 8-5
3) McCabe/Ammendola def Elora Benfer/Filip 9-8 (7-3)
