Women's Tennis Blanked by Roger Williams, 7-0

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's tennis team was handed a shutout loss at home Thursday afternoon.

The Bears were defeated by non-conference opponent Roger Williams University, 7-0, at the Rosen Memorial Tennis Courts.

BSU (1-1) has lost 10 straight matches to the Hawks, who are 15-4 in the series since 2005.

Roger Williams did not lose a set in the match and improved to 2-0. The Hawks, a member of Conference of New England, went 14-6 last season.

The Bears had opened the season last weekend by defeating Saint Joseph's of Connecticut.

Sophomore Valentina Abarca (Riobamba, Ecuador) was the winner at No. 1 singles, defeating BSU sophomore Emma Gibney (New Bedford), 6-2, 6-2, while the No. 2 singles winner was senior Izzy Pecora (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), who downed sophomore Aislyn Kelliher (Plymouth, Mass.), 6-1, 6-1.

Junior Ella Mancini (Middlebury, Conn.) won at No. 3 singles over Bears' sophomore Morgan Smith (Taunton, Mass.), 6-2, 6-4, while freshman Megan Bache (Westbrook, Conn.) prevailed at No. 4 singles over sophomore Sarah Pothier (Rochester, Mass.), 6-2, 6-2.

At No. 5 singles, junior Adriana Palmieri (Southington, Conn.) was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over junior Samantha Bettencourt (Tiverton, R.I.) and junior Gabrielle Petroniro (Wolcott, Conn.) won at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-3, over BSU sophomore Ava Alves (Taunton, Mass.).

The No. 1 doubles team of Abarca and Bache defeated Kelliher and Smith, 6-1, while Pecora and Mancini teamed to win No. 2 doubles over Gibney and Bettencourt, 6-0.

At No. 3 doubles, Palmieri and freshman Claire Dwyer (Manchester, Maine) won over Pothier and junior Fiona Clancy (Middleboro, Mass.), 6-1.

BSU plays its third straight home match on Tuesday, facing Nichols College at 3:30 p.m.

Roger Williams will be hosting Wheaton College on Saturday at noon. The Hawks are coached by Barry Gorman, who previously played and coached at Bridgewater State and is in the BSU Hall of Fame.