Women's Tennis | 9/6/2019 2:48:00 PM

Box Score FLUSHING, N.Y. (Sept. 6, 2019) – The Queens College women's tennis team kicked off the 2019 season in high gear as the Knights defeated St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday (Sept. 6) with a 7-0 score at the Queens College Tennis Center.
 
Knights That Shined
 

• East Coast Conference Preseason Player of the Year Luisa Auffarth overpowered STAC's Sofia Shutko in top-flight singles action, with a 6-1, 6-1 victory punctuating Auffarth's excellence on the day.
• Louisa Brunetti showcased her dominance in singles play as well, defeating Carla Mentrup at No. 3 singles in a 6-2, 6-3 decision.
• Ruth Artaza Martin played a gritty, three-set match at sixth-singles but defeated Maya O'Brien by a 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8) final.

 
Knights on the Rise
 

• Freshman Maja Makal was a tour de force in singles play; the rookie from Poland took down the Spartans' second-singles player, Eliza Mulder, in a 6-0, 6-2 sweep.
• Long Island native Gabriela Sciarrotta's 6-2, 6-1 victory over Katarina Lopez in fifth-singles clinched the match in favor of Queens, its fourteenth consecutive triumph over STAC.

 
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
 

• Queens started the day by breezing through doubles play and easily earning the first point of the match.
• Auffarth and Makal won a 6-2 match at the top tandem over Shutko and Mentrup to seal the deal. This came after Brunetti and Lovisa Engstrand took care of Mulder and Lopez by a 6-0 score.
• The Knights swept the doubles decisions when Marisa Ostoja and Anica Knezevic earned a 6-4 triumph at the final tandem against Cassandra Rohr and O'Brien. Ostoja gutted out a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win at the fourth-flight of singles over Rohr to punctuate the shutout.

 
Coach's Comments
 

• "I thought we played extremely well...this was a STAC team that I had actually feared. Their players were terrific and kept the ball on the court all day." – Head Coach Alan Nagel on the overall feel of the match and the opposition.
• "Maja and Gabby really picked it up and played well and our veterans took over from there...it's not about winning and losing, it's about giving the best effort no matter what. That's what they did, they gave their best effort. I'm thrilled to win the first match but we are going to get better." --- Nagel on his team's performance and how he sees his team after the opening match of the year.

 
No Rest for the Weary
 

• The Knights will welcome in Staten Island on Saturday (Sept. 7) for a 1 p.m. match at the Queens College Tennis Center.