The UB women's tennis team was nearly flawless on Friday in a 7-0 victory over local rival Niagara University.
UB climbed to 3-1 in dual matches, dropping the Purple Eagles to 4-6 this season.
The Bulls secured the doubles point even though the number one doubles pairing of Andreea Novaceanu and Tina Jacob lost their match. The number two and number three doubles team's, however, were able to pick up the slack, and the Bulls did not lose another match in the entire dual meet.
After picking up the doubles point, the Bulls rolled in the singles matches, where every player scored a victory for the Bulls.
The only UB singles match that was close was at fifth singles with UB's Sabrina Carmona, who defeated Niagara's Julianne Propkovich in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
"They all came out to play this week," said Bulls' head coach Kathy Twist. "They had something to prove and we talked about everybody just taking care of business on their court, not waiting for a teammate to pull out their match."
Besides the fifth singles match, there were not any close matches. The Bulls even scored a "double bagel" victory with Kristen Ortman defeating Kendra Daigler, 6-0, 6-0 at number three singles.
"Kristen's our captain, and she's been working very hard this week about just being more consistent," said Twist. "She played a very patient, very calculating match, just waiting for her shot and when she plays like that, I think she's unbeatable."
Other decisive victories for the Bulls included Miglena Nenova defeating Mariam Al-Shikarchy at number one singles, 6-1, 6-2. Katrin Fischer defeated Jacquelyn Cary 6-1, 6-1, and Jacob avenged her doubles loss, defeating Shella Dargout at number six singles, 6-2, 6-0.
Jacob was actually having a harder day than the numbers would show, but she was ultimately able to dig deep and score a victory for UB.
"Tina Jacob was struggling with her forehand a little bit, and her strategy was just to keep hitting the ball, and she won her match on a difficult day," said Twist. "Those kinds of things just add to their character."
In their previous match, the Bulls dropped their first dual match of the season to Duquesne, 5-2. The Bulls win gave them back some confidence, and to win in such decisive fashion was big for the Bulls, according to coach Twist.
"I like to say it puts us back on track, we talked about some of the things we wanted to correct, like more consistency," said Twist. "So we worked on that all week, and it feels good to have the success we did, because of all the hard work that nobody sees it starts to pay off."
Consistency wasn't the only thing Twist was preaching to her players. UB had to play, and play well, through the adversity they would face throughout the meet.
"The other thing was to stay poised, things happen in sports, there's always adversity," said Twist.
UB starts their conference schedule following their upcoming match against Mercyhurst. They will face Toledo on Friday, March 25 at home at the Village Glen Tennis Center in Williamsville.
The Bulls will be looking for a modicum of revenge against Toledo. Last year they lost a close match to the Rockets, 4-3.
The Bulls have one more tune-up before the Rockets shoot to Buffalo. Their next match is against Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa. The Bulls hope the strong showing against Niagara will carry through to their next meet.
"Once you get the players getting the confidence that they can win under tough circumstances," Twist said, "It's a boost going into the (Mid-American Conference) schedule."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
