WILMINGTON, Del. - - Sophomore Andrea Ribalta earned a point at number five singles but last year's number one team in the NCAA Division II East Region NYIT Bears took down the Wilmington University women's tennis team, 8-1, on Tuesday afternoon at the Delcastle Tennis Center.
The Bears (1-0), ranked 35th in the final Oracle/ITA Division II Women's National Team Rankings last spring, took all three doubles matches before earning five of the six singles matches. The Wildcats (1-1) were ranked seventh in the final NCAA Division II East Region Rankings at the end of last season, narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament. The Bears were the top seed in the NCAA East Region and moved on to the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals last season.
After falling behind, 3-0, in the doubles matches, Ribalta came out and was the first one finished in the singles matches, taking down Rosa LaCorte, 6-0 and 6-1, to put the Wildcats on the board.
Tess Paya nearly gave the Wildcats a second point in the singles matches, going the distance at number four singles but falling, 6-4, 4-6 (4-10), in the tiebreaker. Junior Anushka Sathe attempted to come back at number three singles, but fell short in the second set, 0-6 and 5-7.
The top ranked singles player and 41st in the nation at the end of last year, Lena Dimmer, closed out the victory for the Bears with the team's fifth point of the afternoon, defeating Laura Gil, 6-1 and 6-0, at number two singles.
The Wildcats remain in competition in the ECC with their next contest, as they head to LIU Post on Friday for another nonconference bout. The matchup against the Pioneers will begin at 3:00 p.m.
