Josephine Emanuelli
The men’s and women’s tennis teams continued their Landmark Conference play with matches against Elizabethtown College and the University of Scranton.
On Saturday, April 14, the men swept the Blue Jays 9-0, their seventh 9-0 victory of the season. Elizabethtown gave Drew an early lead, defaulting at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles; the No. 3 singles was forced to end the match early, giving the Rangers an early 3-0 lead.
The men’s dominance continued, with Vincent Vemulapally (‘19) and Bryce Weizer (‘20) teaming up for a dominant 8-0 victory. Vemulapally also swept his No. 1 singles spot, notching 6-3, 6-1 victories against his opponent. Will Morrison (‘19) swept the No. 2 singles spot, winning 6-1 and 6-2. The Rangers swept all of their other matches against the Blue Jays, with none of the matches going to a third round.
The women’s team struggled against Elizabethtown, dropping the match 4-5. They started strong, winning two of their three doubles contests. Xylia Bruff (‘19) and Maria Navas Espinal (‘20) won in the No. 2 spot, and Cristina Riccio (‘20) and Christina Christodoulou (‘20) won their No. 3 doubles match.
TyTy Witten (‘19) and Kathryn Swenor (‘18) dropped their No. 1 doubles match but redeemed themselves, winning their singles matches at the No. 2 and No. 5 singles positions. Elizabethtown was able to secure their victory by taking the rest of the singles margin, winning by a narrow 5-4 margin.
The Rangers hit the road for the next match, traveling to the University of Scranton. Both teams fell to the Royals, the men’s falling by a 2-7 count and the women dropping the contest 3-6. Scranton’s women’s team is currently undefeated in the Landmark Conference.
Vemulapally delivered once again against the Royals, earning both of Drew’s victories. He won at the No.1 singles spot and teamed up with Geoffrey Diehl (‘20) to win at No. 1 doubles. The Rangers dropped the rest of their matches against Scranton, eventually falling 2-7.
The women’s team struggled against Scranton as well, dropping most of their matches against the Royals. Ashley Camel (‘20) teamed up with Witten to earn a difficult 8-6 victory in the No. 1 doubles spot. Christodoulou and Swenor added victories at No. 4 and No. 6 singles. The Rangers were unable to secure victories in any of their other matches, allowing the Royals to maintain their unblemished Landmark Conference record.
The Rangers will continue to fight for their spot in Landmark Conference playoffs as they visit Landmark Conference opponent Susquehanna Saturday at 1 p.m.
