LAWRENCEVILLE?The Broncs lost to the Hawks in a non-conference match Wednesday afternoon. “It's tough to start out so short handed,” said head coach Ed Torres. “The matches we were in were for the most part competitive and the players gave a good effort.”
For Rider (0-4), using a ?patch work' line up, sophomore Kristina Paich (Stanhope/Lenape Valley Regional) won a three-set thriller, posting a 10-2 tie breaker score, after spitting the first two sets 6-4, 2-6.
“The players are trying,” Torres added. “It is hard to play two positions higher than you should be. It's hard keeping everyone's spirits up and the players really have a great attitude considering the situation that they are facing. They have fun playing the game and they are working on trying to improve their game. This is a real, real rebuilding year.”
“Today, I was more consistent,” said Paich. “I knew if I kept the rallies going it would force my opponent into a mistake so I tried to play a more patient match. I played a tie breaker last week and I was winning before I lost late so I learned from that experience and said ?I'm not losing this time'. I dug deep and was determined to win it.”
“Kristina had a nice match,” Torres added. “She played number four last year and faced Monmouth's number one player and beat her. She is nice and calm and would win a lot of matches at the number four spot that she is used to. She did a nice job in the tie breaker. You have to concentrate more and take less risks because it is ?sudden death' and you don't have that many points to work with. You can go for big shots. You have to keep the ball in play and let your opponents make the mistake. If you can keep the ball going five or six times, you will force the opposition to make a mistake.”
The Broncs are tentatively scheduled to host St. Joseph's on Thursday at 3:00pm.
“The season is tough right now,” Paich added. “Danielle [Morse] and I should be playing at three and four but since we don't have a true number one or number two player, we are playing ?up' and we are facing stronger opponents than we should be being a sophomore and junior. We've been right there in the points and we've maintained our confidence and the new players are improving every game. If we had a full team, we would be playing better and by the spring we'll have a full squad again.”
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