WEST WINDSOR, N.J. (September 6, 2009) – Sophomores Nicole Portner and Mine Bese earned their first wins of the 2009 campaign in second and third-flight singles, respectively, to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s tennis team past Empire 8 rival Rochester Institute of Technology, 7-2, at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J. The Ducks’ win caps off a successful weekend in which Stevens avenged a pair of losses to league rivals Nazareth College and RIT, suffered during last season’s opening weekend of conference action.
Portner defeated Tigers senior Alexis Stanley (Vestal, N.Y.) 6-2, 6-2 in No. 2 singles, while Bese outlasted junior Michele Caporali (Endicott, N.Y.) in the No. 3 slot, 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8). Ducks junior Kendra Appleheimer earned her second straight victory in No. 4 singles with a decisive 6-1, 6-3 win over sophomore Lindsey Gibson (Middletown, Conn.), while freshmen Brooke Catanzano and Alexandra Handel each earned, 6-0, 6-3, wins over their RIT counterparts in fifth and sixth-flight singles, respectively.
Catanzano and sophomore Morgan Scalzi captured their second straight victory in second-flight doubles with an 8-5 win over Caporali and Gibson, while Appleheimer and Handel moved to 2-1 in No. 3 doubles action after scoring an 8-2 win over sophomore Marie Revekant (Pittsford, N.Y.) and junior Julie Burkett (McDonald, Pa.).
After dropping their season opener to perennial powerhouse The College of New Jersey, the Ducks have secured two straight victories to move to 2-1 on the season with a 2-0 league ledger. RIT, which narrowly defeated Stevens 5-4 a year ago and was picked to finish second in the 2009-10 Empire 8 preseason coaches poll, now stands 0-1 on the young season, with a 0-1 record in conference play.
Stevens’ scheduled home match against Rutgers-Newark on September 9 has been moved to the Scarlet Raider campus in Newark, N.J. while renovations are completed on the Stevens Tennis Courts.
