The women's tennis team rolled to a 6-1 victory over St. John's and a 7-0 whitewashing of Albany on Saturday at the Pizzitola Center to extend the team's winning streak to eight matches.
The Bears (12-2) controlled the two matches from start to finish, losing only 16 games in six doubles matches. Five players earned three wins apiece for the team.
"The great thing about our team is that we get along really well, and it shows," said Bianca Aboubakare '11. "It has a lot to do with our team chemistry out on the floor."
Brown 6, St. John's 1
Bianca Aboubakare and Cassandra Herzberg '12 took care of business in the No. 1 doubles match, winning 8-3. Carissa Aboubakare '12 and Sara Mansur '09 handled their opponents by the same total of 8-3. Emily Ellis '10 and Kathrin Sorokko '10 claimed the doubles point over the Red Storm, 8-2.
Ira Aleksova was ready for her match at No. 1 singles against Bianca Aboubakare. Aleksova battled through her serve, sending the first game into deuce multiple times before Aboubakare broke her serve. Aboubakare dropped only two games in the first set, winning 6-2, and played flawlessly in the second as she pulled out an impressive 6-0 win.
"I became more frugal with my decisions," Bianca Aboubakare said. "I didn't make as many errors and finished points more quickly, forcing her to make more errors."
No. 2 Mansur, No. 3 Tanja Vucetic '10 and No. 5 Catherine Stewart '12 each pulled away from their opponents and cruised to easy wins, never giving up more than three games in each set. No. 4 Julie Flanzer '12 won her first set, 6-4, but found a little trouble in the second , falling 3-6. She persevered through the tie breaker for a 10-6 win. No. 6 Brett Finkelstein '09 lost a close match after pulling out a tight win in the first set, 6-4. She fell 3-6 and could not come back from her strong start, losing the tie breaker, 10-8. Finkelstein's loss was the only match the Bears dropped the entire day.
Brown 7, Albany 0
The Bears continued their hot streak and dominated Albany from start to finish.
Bianca Aboubakare and Herzberg won in a convincing fashion, 8-1, at No. 1 doubles. No. 2 doubles team Carissa Aboubakare and Mansur and No. 3 Ellis and Sorokko also pulled away with wins to take an early 1-0 lead.
Bianca Aboubakare sat out the singles play against Albany after supporting her team with a solid three wins on the day. Herzberg took over her duties at No. 1 singles, controlling her opponent from the first serve, 6-0, 6-0. Vucetic filled in for Mansur at No. 2 singles, battling through three sets for the 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
"All the new players have filled in when needed and have brought up the team's level of play," Bianca Aboubakare said. "We have great practices because everyone is fighting for a spot."
Flanzer moved up a spot to No. 3, pulling out a tight victory, 6-4, 7-6 (2). At No. 4, Carissa Aboubakare tallied her third win of the day as she cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win. No. 5 Ellis also rose to the challenge, staying alive for a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win. Alexa Baggio '09 closed out the day for the Bears with a three-set thriller. She won, 6-4, before losing the second set, 6-7 (5). She kept the fight up in the tie breaker and came away with a tight 10-7 win to claim the match.
Ellis, Herzberg and Mansur also tallied three wins apiece for the Bears.
The Bears will look to extend their winning streak against Davidson, Charlotte and Furman over spring break before returning home for an Ivy League battle against Yale on March 29.
The road trip will give the Bears a lot of experience needed for the last stretch of games to finish out the season, according to Bianca Aboubakare.
"They will probably be thinking that we won't be as good as them because we're from the Ivy League," she said. "But we have a lot of fight in us."
