Owls pick up third win of the season against Sharks

Temple Women’s Tennis (3-5-1, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) defeated Long Island University (1-3, 0-0 Northeast Conference) 4-0 Sunday evening at the Vidas Athletic Complex. Temple lost just three sets the entire day and never dropped a match in the win.

KEY MOMENTS

• Temple’s Maria Martinez and Aditi Vaidya had a fast start, with the Owls winning a strong rally against LIU’s Paula Guillen Cerver and her doubles partner to claim the first point of the third set. However, the Sharks’ duo dropped three points on serves and allowed the Owls to win a clean 6-0 sweep.

• Temple’s Irmak Ozturk and Nina Andreoni showed great teamwork and chemistry in their match against LIU’s Clara Tardivel and Jenna Svatos by dominating with strong hits as they cruised to a 5-1 victory.
• Temple’s Thamara Kawaratani and Marianthi Christoforidou had a rocky start against LIU’s Mia Tsoukalas and Lucia Garrigues, dropping the first game but bounced back to win 6-1.
• Christoforidou dropped the first point in her singles match against Tardivel but battled back with a commanding rally to score a point. Christoforidou’s confidence grew throughout each game, allowing her to gain more control over the ball and take the 2-0 win. 
• Kawaratani went head-to-head with LIU’s Ksenia Reznitskaya, where Kawaratani took an early lead. Renzitskaya stole the second set before Kawaratani was able to cruise to a 6-3 win in the third set to clinch a victory.
• Ozturk played fiercely in her match against Garrigues, winning the first game but losing the next two. However, she bounced back in the fifth game with impressive determination and ultimately won the first set 6-4. The momentum translated into the second set, where she won 6-4 again to earn a sweep.

THE NUMBERS

• Martinez and Vaidya defeated Guillen Cerver and her doubles partner with a score of 6-0. 

• Ozturk and Andreoni delivered a dominant performance, winning their set 5-1.
• Kawaratani and Christoforidou battled back after a slow start to win 6-1.
• In singles, Christoforidou beat Tardivel 2-0.
• Kawaratani was competitive throughout her match with Reznitskaya and needed a decisive third set to pick up a win.
• Ozturk defeated Garrigues with a score of 2-0. 
• Andreoni played Guillen Cerver and took a quick set to clinch the win.  
• Temple lost just one set in singles action when Kawaratani fell 7-6 to Reznitskaya in the second set. 

WORDS FROM COACH

“We had a great start,” said Temple head coach Jeff Brandes. “We took it to them in doubles. That’s the best doubles we’ve had all year, it just came together and we carried the momentum into singles”

WORDS FROM THE TEAM

“We have a great group of girls,” Kawaratani said. “They’re all very new but they’ve come in and done great. They’re super passionate and the energy is great.” 

ON TAP

Temple will have a week break before traveling to Princeton, New Jersey, to face off against Princeton (2-1, 0-0 Ivy League) on March 1 at 3 p.m.