Women's Tennis Bounces Back With Big Win Over Hofstra

The NJIT women's tennis team picked up its 11th victory of the season after defeating the Hofstra Pride 6-1 Sunday afternoon at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreation Facility. 

The win total tied the most victories the Highlanders have produced since 2013-14 when NJIT ended the year with an 11-8 record and an appearance in the America East Championship match.

"I am happy we were able to quickly bounce back with a win today." said head coach Zaki Abdelrahman. "We managed to play good doubles and win all three matches, which always give us the opportunity to play singles with less pressure."

"It was great to see Holly win her fourth consecutive match while continuing to develop her game a lot. Also, I thought Rafaella and Amanda played with high intensity throughout the match and Shamika played her best two sets since joining the team. I feel we are ready for ASUN play to begin against Stetson."

NJIT (11-2) cruised to the doubles point with quick wins at Nos. 3 and 2. Advaita Saravanan and Adara Omar only allowed one set win at the third flight and Rafaella Sampaio and Mouna Bouzgarrou clinched the point with 6-2 win at No. 2. Holly Matson and Joleta Budiman gave the Highlanders a clean sweep by edging out Hofstra's top pair for a 7-6 victory.

Outside of a three-set win (6-1, 3-6, 6-1) at No. 1 by Bouzgarrou and a loss at No. 4, NJIT triumphed in its singles matchups in straight sets. Matson's 6-4, 6-2 win at the second spot and Bouzgarrou's win gave the Highlanders a 3-0 advantage. Hofstra got on the board in the next match to complete but Dhar sealed the win for NJIT with a 6-4, 6-1 performance in the third flight.

Sampaio (6-3, 6-0) and Amanda Helminsky (6-0, 6-3) contributed to the final margin of victory at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. 

The Highlanders have been consistently dominant this season, with more than half of the victories (six of 11) have come from 6-1 or 7-0 scores.

NJIT will open ASUN Conference play on Saturday, March 16 with an early 10 a.m. match against Stetson in Newark. 

NJIT 6, Hofstra 1

Singles competition
1. Mouna Bouzgarrou (NJIT) def. Alejandra Ruffini (HOFSTRA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
2. Holly Matson (NJIT) def. Jasmine King (HOFSTRA) 6-4, 6-2
3. Shamika Dhar (NJIT) def. Katherine Kachkarov (HOFSTRA) 6-4, 6-1
4. Sarah Herndon (HOFSTRA) def. Adara Omar (NJIT) 7-6, 6-0
5. Rafaella Sampaio (NJIT) def. Odessa Stork (HOFSTRA) 6-3, 6-0
6. Amanda Helminsky (NJIT) def. Mandisa Walle (HOFSTRA) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Holly Matson/Joleta Budiman (NJIT) def. Sarah Herndon/Jasmine King (HOFSTRA) 7-6
2. Rafaella Sampaio/Mouna Bouzgarrou (NJIT) def. Alejandra Ruffini/Katherine Kachkarov (HOFSTRA) 6-2
3. Advaita Saravanan/Adara Omar (NJIT) def. Ronia Dolabany/Odessa Stork (HOFSTRA) 6-1

Match Notes
Hofstra 5-6
NJIT 11-2
Order of finish: Doubles (13,2); Singles (2,1,4,3,5,6)