Lehigh Captures 7-0 Sweep over Hofstra

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh women’s tennis picked up its second straight win, downing Hofstra 7–0 Friday afternoon at the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center. The Mountain Hawks improved to 2-1 and the Pride dropped to 1-2. 

“I’m ecstatic with the overall result of 7-0 today,” said head coach Sophia Geier. “After securing our doubles point, we came out really hot in singles. With some struggles coming in the second set, we were challenged but were able to respond well and ended up getting the job done. Giselle and Ronit came out strong in round two and finished things off with a great performance.”

The Mountain Hawks started Friday’s match strong, winning all three doubles matches. Lehigh would control the momentum for the rest of the match. First-year Ronit Khromchenko and Audrey Harrington secured the first win of the day for Lehigh, taking down Katarina Drinchich and Mary Madigan 6-1. 

Playing at the No. 3 singles spot, senior Hamsa Javgal secured the first singles win of the afternoon, downing Kaitlyn Ferguson 6-2, 6-4. First-year Alina Shyani continued her undefeated singles play, picking up a 6-2, 6-4 win over Sabira Mohamed at the No. 2 singles spot. 

Senior Allyce Gaborik secured the win for the Mountain Hawks in three sets. Gaborik won the first set 6-1, lost the next set 6-3 and battled back in the third and final set, picking up a 7-6 win.

Sophomore Maggie Forkner also picked up a three-set victory at the No. 1 spot. Forkner won the first set 6-2, lost the next 6-3 and hung on for a 7-5 victory in the final set. 

Sophomore Giselle Vlassis pulled out a 6-3 win at the No. 5 singles spot in the first two sets against Mary Hadigan. Khromchenko secured the sweep with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Ava Veneziano at the No. 6 singles spot. 

“Overall, a great team win all around, and I like the momentum we’re building this early in the season,” Geier said.

Next up, Lehigh will take on Sacred Heart on Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. at the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center.

DOUBLES: 

1. Forkner/Gaborik (Lehigh) def. Kadiri/Soyer (Hofstra) 7-5
2. Shyani/Javagal (Lehigh) def. Higgins/Mohamed (Hofstra) 6-3
3. Khromchenko/Harrington (Lehigh) def. Drinchich/Madigan (Hofstra) 6-1

Order of finish:3, 2, 1

SINGLES: 

1. Maggie Forkner (Lehigh) def. Amanda Kadiri (Hofstra) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
2. Alina Shyani (Lehigh) def. Sabira Mohamed (Hofstra) 6-2, 6-4
3. Hamsa JavagAl (Lehigh) def. Kaitlyn Ferguson (Hofstra) 6-2, 6-4
4. Allyce Gaborik (Lehigh) def. Abigail Higgins (Hofstra) 6-1, 6-3, 7-6
5. Giselle Vlassis (Lehigh) def. Mary Madigan (Hofstra) 6-3, 6-3
6. Ronit Khromchenko (Lehigh) Ava Veneziano (Hofstra) 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5., 6