NEW YORK - The Columbia women's tennis team fell in its season opener today, in a tough loss to local rival St. John's. Despite wins in the doubles point and in the top two spots, the Red Storm was able to win at Nos. 3 through 6, taking the match, 4-3.
The match opened with a win for the Lions, as first-year Nicole Bartnik and senior captain Carling Donovan won in the No. 1 doubles spot, beating the St. John's duo, 8-5. The next match to come to completion was in the No. 2 spot, as Natasha Makarova and Chelsea Davis fell, 8-4. With the doubles point up for grabs, it came down to the No. 3 spot, where junior captain Natalia Christenson and sophomore Eliza Matache won 8-5, giving Columbia the 1-0 lead early on.
In singles, however, St. John's fought back early, to tie up the match and take the lead. Donovan was the first Lion to fall in the No. 5 spot, as she was defeated by Anastasia Zavorgodini, 6-2, 6-1. First-year Diana Shapoval had a tough fight in the second set of her match at No.6, but couldn't hold Nakita Austin off, losing 6-2, 7-5. With the Red Storm up 2-1, first-year Bartnik kept a cool head, and won her match in the No. 1 spot with ease, beating Ira Aleksova, 6-4, 6-2. With the score tied at two all and three matches left on the court, the overall team match was up for grabs. In the No. 3 spot, first-year Chelsea Davis played well, but not well enough to keep up with Joanna Zwirbulis, who took the sets, 6-4, 6-1.
Junior captain Natasha Makarova had one of the most inspired wins of the night for the Lions in the No. 2 spot. With St. John's up 3-2, and Makarova fighting back from a first set loss, it wasn't immediately clear whether or not the win was even possible. But Makarova went up 2-1 in the third, and stayed up on serve to take it to 4-2. In the next game, she broke opponent Ece Firat's serve to take the 5-2 lead, and iced her opponent on serve in the final game, taking the win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Makarova's comeback put the Lions back in position to win, as the team scores were tied once again at 3-3. But in the No. 3 spot, sophomore Eliza Matache won the first set 6-3, yet was unable to maintain that momentum, losing the second and third sets in a tough fight, 6-1, 6-1, in the match's deciding point.
With the 4-3 loss, the Lions stand at 0-1 in the season. Up next, the team hosts two matches in the Dick Savitt Tennis Center: a Friday, February 5 match-up at 2 p.m. against Stony Brook, and a Saturday, February 6 match against Fairleigh Dickinson at 2 p.m.
St. John's 4, Columbia 3
Doubles
1. Donovan/Bartnik (CU) def. Yonkus/Firat (SJ), 8-5
2. Zwirbulis/Mikhaylova (SJ) def. Makarova/Davis (CU), 8-4
3. Natalia Christensen/Matache (CU) def. Alesova/Alyssa Liantonio (SJ), 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
Singles
1. Nicole Bartnik (CU) def. Ira Aleksova (SJ), 6-4, 6-2
2. Natasha Makarova (CU) def. Ece Firat (SJ), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Joanna Zwirbulis (SJ) def. Chelsea Davis (CU), 6-4, 6-1
4. Jenny Yonkus (SJ) def. Eliza Matache, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. Anastasia Zavorgodini (SJ) def. Carling Donovan (CU), 6-2, 6-1
6. Nakita Austin (SJ) def. Diana Shapoval (CU), 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1, 3, 2, 4*
