Columbia drops nailbiter to local rival St. John's

Though the official start of the Ivy conference season is still weeks away, the women’s tennis team began the spring season on Sunday with a home match against local rival St. John’s University. The Lions lost in a heartbreaker, 4-3. The loss was all the more bitter with the Lions’ 2008 4-3 loss against the Red Storm still fresh in the players’ minds.

Despite the final results, the Lions were able to steal points by winning two out of the three doubles matches.

Columbia’s No. 1 doubles team, senior captain Carling Donovan and freshman Nicole Bartnik, had a strong 7-5 win against St. John’s Jenny Yonkus and Ece Firat. The Light Blue’s No. 2 doubles team, senior captain Natasha Makarova and freshman Chelsea Davis, fell to Joanna Zwirbulis and Ksenia Mikhaylova, losing by a score of 8-4 after a tough match.
With the doubles points riding on the third match, the team and fans gathered on the sidelines to watch the No. 3 doubles team—junior Natalia Christenson and sophomore Eliza Matache—pull through with a score of 8-4, after leading for the majority of the match.

Though Columbia jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, St. John’s worked to seal the deal by winning four of the six singles matches.

St. John’s secured the first singles win when Donovan fell in the No. 5 singles spot to newcomer Anastasia Zavorgodini, with a 6-2, 6-2 loss. In the No. 6 spot, freshman Diana Shapoval lost her match 6-2, 7-5, despite a hard-fought second set.

With the Lions down by one, Bartnik tied the singles score at two after crushing her opponent, Ira Aleksova, by a score of 6-4, 6-2.

With three matches left on the court, the overall win was up for grabs. In the No. 3 singles spot, Davis played well, but not well enough to keep up with Zwirbulis, who took the sets, 6-4, 6-1.
Makarova stole an incredible win in the No. 2 singles spot. She recovered from her first-set loss with a 6-3 win in the second set. She finished her opponent off in the third set with a score of 6-2, making her comeback a high point in the match.

Once again, the score was tied. With one more match on the court, the outcome rested on the shoulders of Matache in the No. 4 singles spot. Matache won the first set 6-3, but she was unfortunately unable to take the win, losing the second and third sets by a score of 6-1, 6-1.

The Lions will look to counter the loss during non-conference matches to come. Head coach Ilene Weintraub sees these upcoming matches as a chance to prepare for the Ivy schedule.
Columbia hosts back-to-back non-league matches against Stony Brook next Friday at 2 p.m, and Fairleigh Dickinson next Saturday at 2 p.m.