JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) put together its first-ever women's tennis postseason tournament for this season, and the first-ever match to take place under those circumstances was a first round match between sixth-seeded New Jersey City University and #7 William Paterson University this afternoon, Wednesday, April 28. The Gothic Knights, hosting the Pioneers at the Lincoln Park Tennis Courts, did away with the lower seed by a final score of 4-0.
In postseason play, tennis matches need only go until a winner has been decided. With third doubles and sixth singles going into the books as no contests, today's winner needed to reach the best-of-seven number of four victories to seel the overall match win.
Things got started in doubles, with the Gothic Knights (2-5, 1-5 NJAC) taking the 2-0 lead. Sophomore
Giada Zorzan (Milan, Italy/Liceo dello Sport Marco Pantani ) and freshman
Karolen Ebrahim (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) teamed up at first doubles and did away with their opponents from the Pioneers (0-7, 0-6 NJAC) by a score of 8-1. Then, freshman
Shirley Colonia (Elizabeth, N.J./Alexander Hamilton Prep) and senior
Hana Agarrouj (Agadir, Morocco/Lycée Mohamed Zerktouni) paired together at second doubles for the scoreless 8-0 victory.
In singles play, needing just a pair of victories to seel it, Zorzan got things started at first singles with a straight-set, 6-1, 6-0 victory. Then, Colonia clinched the afternoon and the first-ever NJAC Tournament win in history with a straight-scoreless-set win at fourth singles, 6-0, 6-0.
Three other matches paused at that time with the overall match decided, with NJCU leading in two of them. Freshman
Lockslea Mayers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) held a (6-2, 1-2) lead at third singles, as did junior
Annaliza Lagman (Jersey City, N.J./Ferris) (4-3) at fifth singles. Agarrouj was trailing (3-4) at second singles at the time the match came to an end.
What's Next
Now that the Gothic Knights have advanced to the quarterfinal round, next on the docket is a matchup with third-seeded Rutgers-Camden on Saturday, May 1, at 11:00 a.m. in Camden, N.J. NJCU will look to avenge its 6-1 loss to the Scarlet Raptors back March 27 — the program's first-ever match since the restart.
