PHILADELPHIA, Pa.?The City of Brotherly Love.  The Rider women's tennis team took the ?love' phrase a little too literally dropping seven of 12 sets by a score of six to love as the Hawks of Saint Joseph's defeated the Broncs in Philadelphia on Wednesday.  “We played inconsistent,” said a disappointed head coach Ed Torres.  “The teams are pretty even talent wise but we didn't play like it today.  More than half of the sets we lost were at love and I didn't love that at all.”

Despite a straight set win from freshman Tricia Ashmore (Sparta) at third singles, the Hawks prevailed 6-1 in the non-conference match.

“Tricia has been our most consistent player,” Torres added.  “She keeps the ball in play and keeps the rally alive.  She is patient and makes her opponent make a mistake.  And when they do, she capitalizes on it with an open court shot.  She is playing well.”

Ashmore has won twice in her four match career, having also defeated Monmouth on September 18. 

“My career has started pretty good,” said Ashmore.  “The biggest adjustment coming out of high school has been the level of play.  Everyday, you face a really good player and you have to be consistent in your effort each time on the court.  Facing the higher level of play on a daily basis is hard.”

Ashmore, a four-year letterwinner out of Sparta High School, earned Sussex County Interscholastic League First Team All-Star honors her senior year as Sparta went 21-1, 18-0 in the SCIL.  Ashmore went undefeated her last three seasons during Sussex County and SCIL play. 

The women's team hosts Lafayette on Friday in a non-conference match at 3:00pm.

“Tomorrow (Thursday) during practice, we are going to work on playing more consistently,” Torres added.  “We just need to cut down on the errors.”

-RU-