SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Graduate student Laura Fermosel (Colmenar Viejo, Spain/ÍES Rosa Chacel) capped off her fall season with a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the opening round of the Northeast-10 as the University of New Haven women's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision in the opening round of the NE10 Championship. With the loss, the Chargers close out the fall portion of their schedule with an 8-6 overall record after advancing to the NE10 Championship for the first time since the 2012-13.
The Dolphins opened up the match securing the doubles point with early decisions at second and third doubles. The No. 2 doubles pair of Camila Humala and Brooke Fernandez were the first to post a 6-3 victory over Shelby Clyne (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip) and Angela Mercurio (Bay Shore, N.Y./Islip), while Lilia Rodriguez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista) and Nicole Mika (Staten Island, N.Y./Laurel Springs) dropped an identical score at No. 2 doubles to the pair of Marta Nunez and Caroline St. Antoine.
At first singles, the Chargers battled tough before having the match halted after the doubles point was secured. Fermosel and partner Stephanie Gonzalez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) were locked in a 5-4 contest with their opponents, Tiffany Hamdan and Birdem Oz before play was stopped.
Fermosel's victory at No. 1 singles came as the second single point to be decided as she cruised by her opponent, Hamdan. That decision followed the No. 3 singles point going in favor of Le Moyne's Nunez 6-0, 6-1 over Rodriguez, while it put the score at 2-1 in favor of the Dolphins.
The final two points of the day came at second and fourth singles with Mika putting up a fight in the No. 4 singles position. The rookie opened up the match with a 6-3 decision before surrendering the point with scores of 6-3, 6-2 to Le Moyne's St. Antoine. Clyne and Caitlyn Burridge (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) each had their singles matches suspended once the match had been decided, with Clyne locked in a 2-2 stalemate at the time the match was stopped.
The Chargers will return to the court with a full spring schedule that kicks off in March with a Spring Break trip. Among the spring schedule are four home matches at the New Haven Tennis Courts, starting with a visit from the Connecticut College Camels on Saturday, March 30.
