The women's tennis team recorded its record-breaking sixth shutout Sunday, defeating Niagara 7-0 at the Village Glen Tennis Center in Willamsville.
The match started with Buffalo's senior Kristen Ortman and sophomore Natalie Dean facing the Purple Eagles' Danielle Grenier and Julianne Prokopich. The duo went back and forth on sets until Ortman and Dean pulled away, winning 8-4.
The victory was the 50th doubles triumph of Ortman's career, the most by a women's tennis player since Buffalo became a Division I program.
"The shutouts and records are just a manifestation of all the hard work these girls put in," said head coach Kathy Twist.
Reaching 50 wins in doubles play was a milestone for Ortman, who also recorded her 54th singles win against Niagara's Prokopich, 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 2 seeded spot.
"I think were going to break a lot of records this season as long as our team stays focused," Twist said.
Twist has changed her lineup in doubles play many times this season but used the same pairing she did against Duquense.
In second-seeded doubles, sophomores Andreea Novaceanu and Tina Jacob clashed with Niagara's Jacquelyn Cary and Sheila Dargout. The Bulls won the match easily, 8-0, due to Niagara's inability to return the sophomore twosome's serves.
The third and final doubles match pitted Bulls junior Miglena Nenova and sophomore Smaranda Stan against Niagara's Vanja Lakic and Victoria Tiso. This was the second time on the courts and the first home match for the Bulls' new member Stan.
Stan and Nenova defeated Lakic and Tiso, 8-2, and are now 2-0 as a pairing. With their win, Ortman and Jacob are now 9-1 on the season as the No. 2 paring being 2-2 overall this season.
After dominating doubles play, the victories continued in singles play. The wins were highlighted by the No. 3 spot, where Novaceanu recorded a victory over Cary of the Purple Eagles (4-6) with scores of 6-0, 6-0.
It was the fourth time this season that Novaceanu defeated each of her opponents in straight sets. She is currently 16-4 in singles play.
"I have stayed more positive and consistent," Novaceanu said.
Nenova started singles play on Sunday and walked away with a defeat against Lakic. After the first set it looked like Nenova would walk away with a pair of shutouts, but Lakic came back hard, yet not hard enough as Nenova finished it off 6-0, 6-3.
Dean also recorded four victories, which downed Dargout 6-0, 6-3. At the No. 5 spot, Stan recorded her second singles win of the season, defeating Kim Roberts, 6-1, 6-2.
The no. 7 spot saw Jacob face off against Tiso. This match sealed the deal for the Bulls as Jacob won easily, 6-1, 6-0. In the exhibition match, the Bulls were also flawless as Katrin Fischer defeated Paige Welch of Niagara 6-0, 6-2.
The Bulls will get some sun in the next week as they head to Florida for three matches during spring break. The Bulls will face Hillsborough Community College on Monday, March 13 in Tampa for the first game of the road trip.
Buffalo (6-1) will also face Manhattan and Central Florida in Orlando. The Bulls have never faced any of the teams scheduled for break, which will be a tough test before the Bulls enter conference play.
"We planned this trip so we could face tough teams and get some good training in," Twist said.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
