Women's tennis achieves win despite Donovan's absence

The Lions are working their way up.

This weekend, the women’s tennis team faced local rival, Long Island University in a match many expected the Lions to win easily. But with senior Carling Donovan out with an arm injury, the team had to adjust its strategy. The Lions proved that even with unexpected setbacks, they could come out on top as they notched a 4-3 win over the Blackbirds. The victory improved their overall record to 4-5.

The Lions began their fight against the Blackbirds with very close doubles matches, but could not take the doubles point, losing two out of three of the matches.

First on the court was No. 3 doubles team junior Natalia Christenson and freshman Diana Shapoval, who fell to Stephanie Elie and Dara Lahens 8-6 after playing a hard-fought set.

While Donovan sat on the sidelines, sophomore Eliza Matache replaced her in the No. 1 doubles spot, joining Nicole Bartnik to take on Selma Babic and Aleksandra Pavlovic. The Light Blue duo fought tirelessly but ultimately lost 8-5.

Columbia saw its only doubles win at No. 2, when junior Natasha Makarova and freshman Chelsea Davis clinched an 8-5 win, against Long Island’s Taysha Blessington and Linn Sjogren.

With the loss of the doubles point, the Lions fell into a 1-0 hole. But despite the early setback, the Lions rallied back to take wins in No. 1, 2, 3, and 5 singles, enough to secure the win.

Columbia saw early victories in the No. 2 and No. 5 singles spots, as Makarova and Matache defeated their LIU opponents. Making the game look easy, Matache crushed Lahens by a score of 6-3, 6-2 while Makerova claimed a convincing 6-3, 6-0 victory over Sjogren.

Notching another win for the Lions, Davis defeated Pavlovic 6-0, 6-4 despite the tough competition in the second set.

In addition, Shapoval, played a difficult match in the No. 6 spot against LIU’s H’Ann Johnson. Shapoval played a determined first, set but then fell 6-1 in her second set.

With the match still up for grabs, attention turned to the tense matchup at No. 1 where Bartnik faced Babic, a high-ranked player previously affiliated with Clemson University. Boasting the title of Northeast Conference Player of the Year in 2009, and carrying a 14-match winning streak into the NCAA Tournament last season, Babic was a tough contest. Both competitors demonstrated remarkable talent, but Bartnik came out on top—she showcased her skills in a particularly impressive match, as she crushed Babic in both sets to win, 6-2, 6-4.

While Bartnik’s victory was enough to secure the Lions the win, the match wasn’t over yet. In the final moments of the match, the Lions crowded around the No. 4 singles court, where freshman Katarina Kovacevic played Long Island’s Blessington in a challenging match. Kovacevic made an impressive collegiate debut as Donovan’s replacement. After losing her first set 6-2, Kovacevic railed back impressively to notch a 6-4 win in her second set. With the support of her teammates on the sidelines, she put up a good fight in the tiebreaker, but was unable to claim the win, losing with an overall score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Looking to boost their record even further, the Lions will travel next week to College Park, Md. to take on George Washington on Friday, March 5 and Maryland on Saturday, March 6. Both matches are scheduled to start at 11 a.m.