College Tennis
Men: Rider University 5, Wagner College 2
Women: Rider University 7, Wagner College 0
LAWRENCEVILLE--Both the Rider University men's and women's tennis teams swept Wagner College on Wednesday afternoon in Lawrenceville in a non-conference match.
"Nice day, nice crowd, nice win," said head coach Ed Torres. "On both sides, we were a little more experienced than the Wagner team."
For the Rider (3-16) men, senior Marc Ashed (Vineland) posted a win at third singles 6-0, 6-1, freshman Drew Laverty (Mount Royal/Kingsway Regional) won at fourth singles 6-2, 6-2, freshman Milo Milosovici (Florence) was a winner at fifth singles (6-1, 6-1) and junior Aaron Goldenthal (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) posted a win at sixth singles by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
"Overall, we played steadier," Torres said. "Drew Laverty for example, played good, solid defensive tennis. He gets the ball back, likes to come into the net and serves and volleys well. He is aggressive when he comes into the net and he played well for us today."
"I had a pretty good match," Laverty said. "As a team, we all came out and took care of business. It was good for the team to pick up a win. We play a tough schedule and we leave it all out on the court. We're a young team but if we keep working and keep building, we'll be good."
For the Bronc women, senior Kristina Paich (Stanhope/Lenape Valley Regional) won at first singles 6-0, 6-2, freshman Marly Roche (Sussex/High Point Regional) won at second singles 6-0, 6-0, sophomore Tricia Ashmore (Sparta) posted a win at third singles by a 6-1, 6-2 score, junior Mallory Garbaravage (Little Egg Harbor/Pinelands Regional) won at fourth singles (6-1, 6-2), sophomore Allison Clay (East Brunswick) won her fifth singles match by 6-0, 6-0 and sophomore Danielle White (Reading, Pa./Reading) was a winner at sixth singles, also by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
"Kristina, for us today, played her usual steady hard-hitting baseline game," Torres said about his senior captain. "I'm going to miss her leadership, both on and off the court. Her teammates respect her and she is a very good tennis player."
"Our match went well today," Paich said. "Everyone played consistent and that's what we needed. We are in a tough conference and the scores have been a lot closer than the team scores have indicated."
Also for the Rider men, senior Will Haight (Sewell/Washington Township) and Ashed won 8-4 at first doubles, Laverty and junior Chris Esposito (Ocean Grove/Neptune) won 8-0 at second doubles and freshman Matt DiMartino (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) and freshman John Spellman (Toms River/Toms River HS South) teamed up for an 8-1 win at third doubles.
Also for the Rider (4-11) women, Ashmore and Roche won at first doubles by an 8-3 score, Paich and Clay teamed up for an 8-0 win at second doubles and Garbaravage and White won 8-0 at third doubles.
The match was Code Cranberry for the tennis team with an estimated 200 in attendance. Code Cranberry is an initiative designed to express a unified show of support among varsity athletes at Rider University.
On designated Code Cranberry dates, all varsity student-athletes are asked to come out to the contest, wearing their Code Cranberry tee shirt, and cheer on their fellow student-athletes in an effort to show that while they compete in different sports, they are all part of one team, and that team is Rider Athletics.
Rider hosts Siena in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match Friday afternoon.
The MAAC Championships will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York April 23-25.
"We've played a lot of good teams this year and we are ready to give it our all at the championships," Torres added.
"We're excited about playing at the National Tennis Center," Paich said. "It gives you that extra motivational to do well and I think we will. It will be fun."
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