Temple University women’s tennis swept Binghamton University 5-0 Saturday at the Legacy Tennis Center.
Senior Alice Patch and sophomore Oyku Boz defeating their opponents 8-0 to secure Temple (2-1) the doubles points. Patch and Boz earned their second doubles victory of the season; they won their match at Hampton University on Jan. 12, but fell to Old Dominion University.
“We’re going to need the doubles point if we are going to play well,” coach Steve Mauro said. “I am happy with the result Alice and Oyku earned, it really helped us out.”
In both victories this season the Owls won the doubles point. In a 4-3 loss to Old Dominion on Jan. 13, Temple did not record the doubles point.
Three of Temple’s four singles victory ended in straight sets.
Freshman Stefaniya Surikova stayed unbeaten in the early season, winning her singles match (7-6, 6-2) against Binghamton senior Tiffany Dun. Surikova defeated her singles opponent against Old Dominion (4-6, 7-5, 11-9) and helped win doubles matches 6-0 against Hampton and Old Dominion.
“With Stefaniya, we have really focused on putting more variety into her game,” Mauro said. “She is a hard-hitting player, but we wanted her to be more well-rounded and patient.”
Freshman Ruoyu Chen lost her first set but then claimed the remaining two for the win.
Chen made her singles debut in the Owls’ lineup against Binghamton; she played in a doubles match against Hampton in the season opener, but did not play against Old Dominion.
“[Chen] played well, but it’s going to take a little time for her to get acclimated to college tennis,” Mauro said. “However, we do have high expectations for her and the other freshmen. We expect them to be playing high in the lineup soon.”
Mauro stressed the importance of patience to Surikova and the rest of the Owls.
“We want all our girls to be more consistent,” Mauro said. “Instead of trying to win as quickly as possible, we want them to be able to maintain long rallies and wait for the right opportunity to win each point.”
Being more consistent will be critical for the Owls’ next match at Princeton University on Feb. 12, Mauro said. Many of the Owls faced Princeton this year taking part in the Princeton Invite in September 2018.
“We had some success against Princeton earlier in the year,” Mauro added. “It’s going to be tough playing against them, but our girls are motivated. I like our chances against them.”
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