Women's Tennis Advances with 4-3 Win Over Towson

4/19/2012 7:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

NORFOLK, Va. - The Drexel women's tennis team kept its season alive on Thursday, as the eighth-seeded Dragons got a dramatic victory over the ninth-seeded Towson Tigers in the first round of the CAA Tournament, 4-3. The doubles point sealed the win for the Dragons in a match where singles was contested first. Nicole Pivonka and Emma Brook won at No. 2 doubles for the clinching match win, 8-4.

Play was moved indoors due to wet courts on the campus of Old Dominion University, with singles action going first. The Dragons handled business at the top of the ladder, with Sonja Stosic winning at No. 1, 6-1, 6-2. Zeynep Mafa handled her opponent at No. 2, 6-0, 6-2.

The Tigers got victories from the third, fourth and fifth spots, although Marcela Rosales at No. 3 singles put up a tremendous effort for the Dragons. She dropped the first set, 6-3, but rolled to a 6-1 win in the second set. The third set went back to Nisha Shah of Towson, 6-2, as the Tigers got that point.

Drexel stayed alive after singles play thanks to a win at No. 6 by Nicole Pivonka over Ariel Burke. Pivonka won 6-3 in the first set, then maintained her dominance in the second set to clinch a 6-3, 6-2 win.

With the singles matches all square at 3-3, the doubles point was necessary to find a winner. Once again, the Dragons got strong play out of the top of their lineup. Stosic and Mafa made wuick work of Ayana Dow and Burke at No. 1 doubles, winning 8-1. After Rosales and Elise Leizerovich were defeated at No. 2, it came down to the No. 3 doubles match. There, Pivonka and Emma Brook played focused, determined tennis, running out to a lead and maintaining it as they won, 8-4.

Drexel will now move onto the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament. They will play the top-seeded VCU Rams on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

Singles

#1 Sonja Stosic (Drexel) d. Aandria Carr (Towson), 6-1, 6-2
#2 Zeynep Mafa (Drexel) d. Nani Lizana (Towson), 6-0, 6-2
#3 Nisha Shah (Towson) d. Marcela Rosales (Drexel), 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
#4 Ayana Dow (Towson) d. Emma Brook (Drexel), 6-4, 6-4
#5 Andrea Sumlin (Towson) d. Alex Bell (Drexel), 6-2, 6-2
#6 Nicole Pivonka (Drexel) d. Ariel Burke (Towson), 6-3, 6-2

Doubles

#1 Mafa/Stosic (Drexel) d. Dow/Burke (Towson), 8-1
#2 Samlin/Lizana (Towson) d. Rosales/Elise Leizerovich, 8-4
#3 Pivonka/Brook (Drexel) d. Shah/Carr (Towson), 8-4