LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University women's tennis team dropped its spring home opener to Villanova, 7-0, Saturday morning. With the loss, the Broncs slip to 5-6, while the Wildcats improve to 1-13. 

“The team as a whole played flat and missed too many shots,” said Rider Head Coach Doug Potkay. “To Villanova's credit, they came out playing aggressively and forced us to make errors.”

The Wildcats took the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 victories at the top two flights. Danielle Scrudato and Kelli Swanson had a strong showing at No. 3, but fell to Zoe Speaker and Ellie Zimmerman, 7-5.

Villanova posted a dominant singles performance, with the Broncs taking no more than three games in any of the No. 3-6 singles matches. Vanessa Canda played the closest match of the morning, falling to Lindsey Evans, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 1. Cyd Melendez also fell to Kaylan Rotman, 6-2, 6-2. 

The Broncs return to action Wednesday, when they play host to Salem International. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Villanova 7, Rider University 0

 Singles competition 

1. Evans, Lindsey (NOVA-W) def. Canda, Vanessa (RID-W) 6-3, 6-4

2. Rotman, Kaylan (NOVA-W) def. Melendez, Cyd (RID-W) 6-2, 6-2

3. Burdick, Carlina (NOVA-W) def. Scrudato, Danielle (RID-W) 6-0, 6-1

4. Busby, Linley (NOVA-W) def. Binder, Amanda (RID-W) 6-0, 6-1

5. Bajet, Paulina (NOVA-W) def. Gardner, Caitlin (RID-W) 6-1, 6-2

6. Brewer, Connor (NOVA-W) def. Swanson, Kelli (RID-W) 6-0, 6-1

 Doubles competition 

1. Burdick, Carlina/King, Sydney (NOVA-W) def. Canda, Vanessa/Melendez, Cyd (RID-W) 6-1

2. Brewer, Connor/Bajet, Paulina (NOVA-W) def. Binder, Amanda/Gardner, Caitlin (RID-W) 6-1

3. Speaker, Zoe/Zimmerman, Ellie (NOVA-W) def. Scrudato, Danielle/Swanson, Kelli (RID-W) 7-5

Match Notes:

Villanova 1-13

Rider University 5-6