Niagara, Detroit and St. Bonaventure could not stop the women's tennis team from being almost flawless this weekend. Buffalo won 24 out of 27 matches at the Niagara Invitational. Despite the cold weather, the team demonstrated complete domination over the two-day event.
The Bulls performed well in their singles matches against Niagara and also pulled away with straight set victories over Detroit and St. Bonaventure. Senior Natalie Dean went 3-0 in singles matches as she defeated St. Bonaventure's Yolanda Callaghan (6-1, 6-0) and Molly Matthews of Niagara (6-2, 6-1) on Saturday. Dean returned on Sunday to defeat Detroit's Aneta Maricevic in two sets (6-1, 6-2).
Five other players, including freshman Denis Harijanto, senior Miglena Nenova, senior Katrin Fischer, sophomore Smaranda Stan and freshman Diana Toia also posted undefeated records.
"The girls dominated," said head coach Kathy Twist. "They did really good and I like to get all my players out there to see what they can do. It's sort of a way to test everyone to see what they need to work on. We should all be proud of what these girls have achieved. They have come a long way."
The duo of Nenova and Harijanto finished the Invitational with a 3-0 record. The tandem recorded an 8-0 versus the St. Bonaventure squad.
Twist was impressed with her team's play even without senior Andreea Novaceanu playing.
"We did all this without our No. 1 singles player, Andreea Novaceanu, who sat out with a sore shoulder," Twist said. "The team has been wonderful, the best so far."
The women's tennis team next faces St. Francis on Saturday at 11 a.m. This will be its only home match of the fall season.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
