PISCATAWAY, N.J.  -  The Rutgers women’s tennis team took on Long Island University in a scrimmage on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the RU Tennis Complex. The two teams played 12 matches, with the Scarlet Knights taking seven.

“This was a great first competition for the team,” said head coach Ben Bucca. “LIU qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year and the majority of their team returned. We faired very well against this high-caliber team. The girls played hard. At some points, they played outstanding tennis, but the scrimmage also showed that some of the points were less than what they are capable of. We are optimistic of our future, but we know we have to work hard.”

LIU won a pair of singles matches as Selma Babic edged junior Amy Zhang (Plano, Texas) and the Blackbirds’ Alek Pavlovic upended senior Katherine Arlak (Leonia, N.J.).

 

In doubles action, RU’s pair, freshman Michelle Green (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) and senior Christine Tran (Centreville, Va.) took down LIU’s Linn Sjogren and Taysha Blessington. Sophomore Morgan Ivey (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and senior Caitlin Baker (Altoona, Pa.) defeated Dara Lahens and Stephanie Elie.

 

Green defeated Sjogren in a singles match, while LIU’s Blessington took down Baker in their head-to-head matchup. Sophomore Jennifer Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) paired with Arlak to defeat the Blackbirds’ Lahens and Elie. Ivey and Tran dropped their doubles match against Babic and Pavlovic.

 

The Scarlet Knights picked up two more singles wins with Holzberg defeating Elie, while Green edged Lahens. Babic and Pavlovic defeated the Rutgers’ pair of Zhang and Arlak, however, Tran and Baker were able to top Sjogren and Blessington in the final doubles match of the day.

 

Rutgers will return to action on Friday, Sept. 25 and Saturday, Sept. 26, for the Brown Invitational in Providence, R.I.