KINGSTON, R.I. – The Bryant University women's tennis squad dropped a 4-3 decision against the University of Rhode Island on Wednesday afternoon at the URI Tennis Courts.
The Black and Gold fought hard, taking the doubles point after three tough matches, before going 2-4 in singles matches, as the Rams picked up the team victory on their home court. It was the first time a match was played on URI's campus since 2009 – which coincidentally was against Bryant – due to reconstruction of the courts.
The Bulldogs took the doubles point after the No. 1 pair of Claudia Hidalgo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) and Lucy Bird (Hamilton, New Zealand) picked up an 8-6 victory over Pam Emery and Kathleen Uy. The No. 3 pair of May Vickers (Montrose, Colo.) and Devlin-Ann Ammendola (Massapequa, N.Y.) also posted an 8-3 victory, setting the stage for a fight to the finish in the singles matches.
Despite a valiant effort, URI went 4-2 in singles to notch the victory. Hidalgo and Bird fell in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, but Bryant's Marcela Brandao picked up a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Michelle Dussoi in the No. 5 singles spot, while Ammendola notched a 6-1, 6-1 win over Nithila Asokaraj to account for the Bulldogs' scoring in the singles matches.
The Bulldogs will look for a strong showing this weekend in Stony Brook, N.Y., when they compete in the Stony Brook Invitational on Sept. 16-18. Bryant will return home on Saturday, Oct. 8, for a morning match against Northeast Conference rival Monmouth.
For continuing coverage of Bryant women's tennis, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.
Doubles
- No. 1 - Hidalgo/Bird (BRY) def. Emery/Uy; 8-6
- No. 2 - Leikem/Leikem (URI) def. Smyers/Brandao; 8-6
- No. 3 - Vickers/Ammendola (BRY) def. Asokaraj/Wojciak; 8-3
Singles
- No. 1 - Pam Emery (URI) def. Claudia Hidalgo; 6-2, 6-3
- No. 2 - Kirsten Leikem (URI) def. Lucy Bird; 6-4, 6-4
- No. 3 - Tristany Leikem (URI) def. Stephanie Smyers; 6-1, 6-4
- No. 4 - Kathleen Uy (URI) def. May Vickers; 6-4, 6-3
- No. 5 - Marcela Brandao (BRY) def. Michelle Dussol; 6-2, 6-3
- No. 6 - Devlin-Ann Ammendola (BRY) def. Nithila Asokaraj; 6-1, 6-1
- Order of Finish - 6, 3, 1, 5, 4, 2
