Women's College Tennis
Saint Joseph's University 7, Rider University 0
LAWRENCEVILLE--The Rider University women's tennis team lost to Saint Joseph's University 7-0 in the 2009 fall home opener Wednesday afternoon.
"Saint Joseph's won every match easily, except for the (Tricia) Ashmore match," said head coach Ed Torres. "They played a little bit steadier, a little more in control and were a little more experienced in match play. I preach every day that consistency wins tennis matches and Saint Joseph's had more consistency then we did today."
For the Broncs, sophomore Tricia Ashmore (Sparta) won seven games at number three singles before losing 6-2, 7-5. Ashmore had two set points in the second set but was unable to force a third and final set.
"What helped me most today was that I worked very hard to stay in the points as long as I could and I tried really hard to get to every ball," said Ashmore who has a 4.00 grade point average as a Secondary Education/Biology major. "The ones that I did run down I was able to hit them back to get the point. Getting to every shot I could is what kept me in this match."
Torres has liked what he has seen from Ashmore who won her ninth career match September 13 at Philadelphia University.
"Tricia has a year of collegiate experience, playing at number three singles last year," Torres said. "She is keeping the ball deeper on the court while maintaining consistency and that is the key. Last year she hit her ground strokes only three quarters of the court, but now she is hitting them deeper and that makes her a better player. You do not do that by practicing once a week. You have to be out there all summer and put in that effort and she has done that."
Rider travels to Annapolis, Maryland for the U.S. Naval Academy Tournament against Towson, Monmouth, Saint Francis (Pa.) and the host Midshipmen September 25-27.
"I hope that we do better than last year," Ashmore added about her outlook for the rest of the season. "We have freshman Marly (Roche) (Sussex/High Point Regional), who is my doubles partner and we did really well the first match of the year against Philadelphia. Hopefully we can win more doubles matches and I can be more consistent in my singles matches as well."
"Our next matches are down at the Naval Academy," Torres said. "We are going to get to see the entire facility and stay overnight down there. We are going to play against tough competition in Navy and Towson and also play teams such as Monmouth and Saint Francis (Pa.). It will be a really good experience and one that will only help our team for the future."
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