ITHACA, N.Y. — The Niagara women's tennis team showed flashes of strong play but faced tough competition at the Big Red Invitational hosted by Cornell University over the weekend.
 
The Purple Eagles opened Friday's action with impressive singles victories despite dropping all three doubles matches. Saloni Tamang rallied for a three-set win over LeMoyne's Casaves, 1-6, 6-4, 10-5, leading a four NU wins over the Dolphins in singles action. Gabriela Melo (6-2, 6-4), Isabel Garcia (6-4, 6-3), and Larisa Kotok (6-4, 6-1) all secured straight-set victories.
 
Saturday saw improved doubles play from Niagara, with all three pairs notching wins against LeMoyne. Melo and Kotok defeated Fernando and Simeonova, 6-4, while Garcia and Tamang and Velasco and Mora also prevailed.
 
However, the singles matches proved challenging against strong Syracuse and Penn State opposition, with all Niagara players falling in straight sets.
 
The final day of competition Sunday saw Kotok provide a bright spot for the Purple Eagles with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 singles victory over Cornell's Marica. This came after a challenging doubles session where Niagara dropped all three matches to Syracuse and Penn State opponents.
 
Up Next
Niagara will play in the UB Fall Invite on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3 in East Amherst.