ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Roosevelt grinded out a 5-4 win over Augustana in the women's match to complete a Saturday sweep of the Vikings in Rock Island, Ill. after the Lakers won the men's match 8-1.
The Lakers started the day off with the men and claimed a 3-0 lead by taking all three doubles matches. Victor Drojan and Felipe Penuela won 8-5 at the No. 1 spot and David Hofmann teamed up with Demille Scarabello to win 8-6 at No. 3. Yazid Benchegra an Justus Peters had no problems winning at No. 2 doubles, cruising to an 8-2 victory.
Benchegra and Drojan won by identical 6-1, 6-2 scorelines in singles play at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Florian Van Der Brink was equally dominant at No. 5 singles with a 6-0, 6-2 win while Scarabello was a 6-4, 7-5 winner at No. 6. Peters won the first set of his match at No. 2 singles comfortably at 6-2, but dropped the second set 7-5 before winning the super tiebreak 10-5.
It was a far tougher struggle on the women's side with the match being won by the bottom of the Lakers' lineup. Roosevelt took two of the three doubles matches off the Vikings after Rebecca Geiger and Alejandra Chavez blanked their opponents 8-0 at No. 3 and Ximena Mercado partnered with Fabiola Rivas for an 8- 5 win at No. 2.
The Lakers suffered a pair of three-set defeats in the top-two spots in the lineup then lost a tough two-setter at No. 3. Yet the final three singles positions stepped up to claim straight sets victory to propel Roosevelt to victory. Grace Hahn shook off a tough 7-5 win in the first set to calmly win 6-3 in the second at No. 4. Mercado played at No. 5 and edged out a 7-6, 6-4 win then Chavez won 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 singles, securing the match.
Although she only played doubles against Augustana, Teodora Petrica became the first Lakers player to ever enter the ITA singles rankings among the top-75 NAIA competitors. The Romanian freshman is No. 32 in the rankings released on March 14 after compiling a 4-1 mark in singles play so far this season.
She rocketed up the rankings after beating then-No. 14 Laura Matamoros of Cornerstone on Feb. 17 in a 4-3 Roosevelt victory. Matamoros fell to No. 27 in the polls and no Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival is ranked higher in singles than Petrica.
Men's Results
Roosevelt 8, Augustana 1
No. 1 Doubles – Victor Drojan/ Felipe Penuela won 8-5
No. 2 Doubles – Yazid Benchegra/Justus Peters won 8-2
No. 3 Doubles – David Hofmann/Demille Scarabello won 8-6
No. 1 Singles – Felipe Penuela lost 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 Singles – Justus Peters won 6-2, 5-7, 10-5
No. 3 Singles – Yazid Benchegra won 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Singles – Victor Drojan won 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Singles – Florian Van Der Brink won 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 Singles – Demille Scarabello won 6-4, 7-5
Women's Results
Roosevelt 5, Augustana 4
No. 1 Doubles – Teodora Petrica/Alyssa Owens lost 8-7 (5)
No. 2 Doubles – Fabiola Rivas/Ximena Mercado won 8-5
No. 3 Doubles – Rebecca Geiger/Alejandra Chavez won 8-0
No. 1 Singles – Fabiola Rivas lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Singles – Rebecca Geiger lost 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (6)
No. 3 Singles – Alyssa Owens lost 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 4 Singles – Grace Hahn won 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 Singles – Ximena Mercado won 7-6 (3), 6-4
No. 6 Singles – Alejandra Chavez won 6-4, 6-3
