The Lady Rams (3-4, 1-4 MEC) ended a two-game losing streak Monday afternoon by going on the road and coming out with a 7-2 match victory over the Bullets (0-2) of Gettysburg College.
In singles action, the Lady Rams took four out of the six matches.
Sophomore Zoe Nicewander had the most dominating performance for the Rams. Nicewander recorded a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Bullets’ junior Maddie Class. Class had no answer for Nicewander in the match, as she was unable to stop the increasing momentum that Nicewander earned with each point she recorded.
Nicollette Bruley, a junior for the Rams, put on a near repeat performance over senior Erin Sweeney of the Bullets, posting a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
Junior Alisha Adkins did her part as well, earning a 6-3, 6-0 win over Gettysburg senior Emily Lutz. When the Bullets fell behind in singles action, they had a terrible time of catching up and trying to gain their footing thanks to the stellar play of the Rams.
Junior Anna Bock had to really scrap her way to a 6-4, 1-6, 10-6 win over Bullet’s senior Erica Paul. Paul did not want to go down without a fight, as her effort and determination showed in making things difficult for Bock.
The two singles match losses for the Lady Rams came off of the rackets of junior Olivia Scott, who dropped a 6-2, 6-0 decision to Bullets’ freshman Amanda Vinges, and junior Zoie O’Neal, who fell by a 6-3, 6-3 match score to sophomore Samantha Boardman. Scott and O’Neal could not keep pace with the performances of their fellow Lady Rams teammates, as the Bullets showed they wanted to make their home fans happy with these two victories.
However, the Lady Rams put on complete domination in doubles action, taking all three of the matches.
O’Neal bounced back, with the help of Adkins, to complete an 8-2 victory over Boardman and Lutz.
As the doubles matches went on, the Lady Rams path got increasingly difficult thanks to the impressive play of the Bullets, but this would ultimately prove to be the Lady Rams’ day. Nicewander and Bock teamed up for an 8-4 victory over Paul and Vinges. Bock played in close matches such as these all day, while this was Nicewander’s first real challenge of the day.
The Lady Rams snuck by the Bullets in the third doubles match of the day with an 8-6 win by Bruley and Scott over Class and Sweeney.
Gettysburg College really seemed to find a decent stride in doubles action, but could not carry this same level of play over into singles action when they really needed it.
A compilation of mental mistakes and clutch plays by the Lady Rams really cemented the Bullets’ fate on this particular day.
With this victory, the Lady Rams are now in eighth place in the Mountain East Conference standings.
On Saturday, the Lady Rams will play a home match against West Virginia Wesleyan. The match time is slated for 10 a.m.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor of The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu
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