UPPER DUBLIN, Penn. (Oct. 3, 2024) – It was a marathon match that took nearly a month to finish.
After completing most of a season-opening competition, watching rain suspend two singles matches in progress, waiting for weeks to reschedule the conclusion, and meeting at a neutral site, the Rutgers University-Camden and DeSales University women's tennis teams finally ended the drama.
In a match that started on September 7 in Camden and ended Thursday at Upper Dublin High School, Rutgers-Camden outlasted DeSales, 5-2.
Heavy rains ended play before the match could be completed in September. It was suspended with the Scarlet Raptors leading, 3-2, forcing the two undecided singles matches to be completed before a team victory was declared. Junior co-captain
Ashton Sirko was leading, 6-4, 5-3, at fifth singles against freshman Caroline Prince when the match was suspended. She ended up winning, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the team's victory.
The other suspended match came at sixth singles, which saw freshman
Emma D'Amico holding the slimmest of leads, 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 over freshman Annabelle Williams when play stopped. She ended up winning the final game, 10-8.
Back on Opening Day in September, DeSales won two of the three doubles matches to take the lone point under the scoring rules for doubles. The Raptors won at first doubles, 6-4, behind the combination of freshman
Jilliane Jaugan and junior co-captain
Katie Moore. DeSales won 7-6 (9-7) at second doubles with a victory over senior
Jayde Sue Silva and Sirko, and the Raptors' duo of junior
Bryn Kelleher and D'Amico dropped a close 7-6 (7-4) decision at third doubles.
In the four completed singles matches, Jaugan won at the top spot, 6-2, 6-0, Silva won at third singles, 6-2, 6-2, and Kelleher earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory at fourth singles. Moore lost a close 7-5, 6-2 decision at second doubles.
The results leave Rutgers-Camden with a 3-1 record, while DeSales is 0-3.
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Saturday when both the women's and men's teams play an 11 a.m. match at Wilkes University.
