The Bloomsburg University women’s tennis team defeated Millersville University in thrilling fashion on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the semi-final round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament.
It was junior Vitoria Nery who led the Huskies to a 4-3 victory against the visiting Marauders in a hard fought battle at the Burt Reese Tennis Center. This win marks the seventh in a row for the Huskies, taking their overall record to 15-2 in 2019.
Nery proved herself to be a clutch player when her team needed her most when the series was tied at 3-3 with #3 of the singles yet to be decided.
She broke the serve that was leading 5-3 in the third set that gave the Huskies the victory they needed to clinch a postseason berth. Millersville’s Kelsey Heckert would be the one to fall to Nery. While Nery won the first set 6-2, Heckert took the match to the deciding set with her 6-4 victory in the second.
In a too-close-to-call third set, Nery managed to seize the victory right after sophomore Giovanna Bonito fell to the Marauder Victoria Hanus at #4 singles to tie the match at an even score of 3-3.
A victory at #1 came from the team of Bonito and junior Taylor earned a victory with a 6-2 score. Their overall doubles record now improves to 13-5.
The duo of Nery and junior Cassidy Calimer also scored themselves a victory at #2, besting the Marauders 6-3 to secure the first doubles point for the Huskies. Proving themselves to be quite the team, Nery and Calimer’s overall record jumps to 13-4 overall.
A 2-0 advantage would be earned for Bloomsburg by the senior Cassie Wentz who bested the #5 Marauder Megan Rovenolt. She scored 7-6 (1) and then finished with a 6-1 win, marking the fifth straight match in a row she has won. Win streaks like that definitely show why the Huskies have earned themselves a spot at the semi-finals for three years straight.
Millersville was not ready to give up that easily, however, as their Corinne Grohoski would best the sophomore Isabella Sarquis in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. This would mark the first victory of the afternoon for the Marauders.
Despite falling to Millersville’s #2 Jasmine Morris, Calimer would extend the Huskies lead to 3-1. She would secure victories in both the second and third sets with a score of 6-3 both times.
Leading the Huskies with 15 wins on the year, Calimer’s overall record now stands at 15-5. She will enter into the semifinals with seven straight victories, proving herself to be a top contender for the Huskies and is a critical component to their postseason lineup.
The match would be sent into a final between the talents of Nery and Heckert after Katina Jones narrowly outplayed Capoferri at # 1 with two 7-5 wins to earn the Marauders another point. Bonito at #4 would then be bested by Hanus first losing 3-6, then winning two straight at 6-4, ending 6-0.
Now advancing to PSAC’s semifinals, the Huskies will now have to square off against the best the Western Division has to offer, top seed Slippery Rock University.
The Huskies now prepare for the semi-final round against Slippery Rock, which will take place on Friday, May 4 at the Burt Reese Tennis Center.