College Tennis
Men: Niagara University 6, Rider University 1
Women: Niagara University 7, Rider University 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Match
LAWRENCEVILLE ? The Rider University men's and women's tennis teams were swept by Niagara in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match Sunday afternoon. “I knew coming into the match that Niagara was going to be tough to beat,” said head coach Ed Torres. “They are always in the top three in the conference for both men and women.”
For the Rider (4-8) men, freshman Christopher Esposito (Ocean Grove/Neptune) recorded Rider's only win after Niagara (4-6) retired 2-1 in fifth singles.
For the women, the number one doubles team of junior Danielle Morse (Edison/Hopewell Valley) and sophomore Kristina Paich (Stanhope/Lenape Valley Regional) had a close match losing 8-6. “They [Danielle and Kristina] played a great match. They could have won that match with a few points here and there,” said Torres.
Also on the men's side, freshman Josh Rultenberg (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) gave a tough fight in his loss at number two singles. “Josh played against a very strong player,” Torres added. “They had some really terrific points even though a lot of them didn't go our way. The score didn't indicate how close it was.” Rultenberg lost in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
The women's team hosts Marist in a MAAC match April 3 and the Rider men travel to Manhattan April 4 for a MAAC match.
“Marist is the defending MAAC champions for the women, so we will be the underdogs in that match,” said Torres, “Manhattan is the defending men's champion from the MAAC but they lost a lot of their players to graduation. I think we will give them a good match.”
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