CHICAGO – A late-night battle at XS Tennis Center ended with Roosevelt defeating nearby rival Illinois Tech in a pair of duals Thursday night in Chicago.
The two schools are separated by less than four miles on Michigan Ave., but the gap between the two on the tennis court was much wider. The Lakers men took down the Scarlet Hawks 6-1 while the women eased past Illinois Tech with a 7-0 sweep.
Roosevelt's women left no doubt in doubles with Nathalie Ramazzini teaming up with Luciana Trigosso for an efficient 6-0 win at the No. 3 spot. Shortly thereafter, Sophie Christie and Zeynep Barut finished up a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles, leaving Malena Moya and Ximena Mercado on the court at No. 1. The Lakers duo got the break it needed and took the set 6-4 to further cement the Lakers' dominance.
The match itself was clinched pretty quickly for the Lakers as five of the six singles matches ended with Illinois Tech not winning more than three games combined in the two sets. Ramazzini won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles spot, but hers was the fourth of the singles matches to finish. Milena Novikova wrapped up a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 3 for the Lakers' second point then Moya cruised 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 to put Roosevelt on the precipice.
Lara Sener sealed the match for Roosevelt with a 6-0, 6-1 win at the fourth singles position and Alejandra Chavez cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles. Trigosso was stuck in a battle at the top singles position, edging out a 7-5 win in the opening set then riding that momentum to a 5-1 lead in the second set. Her Illinois Tech opponent picked up a break to close the match to 5-4 before Trigosso served out the shutout.
It took a little more work for the Lakers to win the men's duel though Roosevelt did not drop a set in the five singles matches it won. Juan Caicedo and Justus Peters clinched the doubles point for the Lakers with a 6-3 win at the top doubles position. Demille Scarabello and Abhay Singh secured the opening blow with a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles before the Scarlet Hawks responded with a win at No. 3.
The Lakers picked up a quick win from Scarabello at the No. 5 singles position with a routine 6-2, 6-2 win, but none of the other matches were quite that easy. Chakib Madcur had to battle in a tight 6-4 opening set at No. 4 singles before putting on the heat in a 6-1 win in the second set. It was the same for Jules Rumeau, who gutted out the 6-4 win in the first set before sweeping past his foe 6-2 in the second set at No. 2.
Roosevelt dropped the match at No. 3 singles, but Caicedo responded with a 6-2, 7-5 win at the top singles spot to clinch the match. All eyes then turned to No. 6 singles where Lluc Mascaro Sierra was locked in a tight second-set battle. After claiming the opening set 6-2, the freshman went back-and-forth in the second set before he took over the tiebreak for a 7-6 (7-3) win to close out the dual.
Roosevelt Women 7, Illinois Tech 0
No. 1 Doubles – Malena Moya/Ximena Mercado (RU) def. Martyna Kalinowska/Thea Salcedo (IIT), 6-4
No. 2 Doubles – Sophie Christie/Zeynep Barut (RU) def. Maia Ramos/Maddalena Dumangane (IIT), 6-1
No. 3 Doubles – Nathalie Ramazzini/Luciana Trigosso (RU) def. Leah Guest/Angelica Conwell, 6-0
No. 1 Singles – Trigosso (RU) def. Kalinowska (IIT), 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 Singles – Ramazzini (RU) def. Dumangane (IIT), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Singles – Milena Novikova (RU) def. Salcedo (IIT), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Singles – Lara Sener (RU) def. Ramos (IIT), 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 Singles – Moya (RU) def. Conwell (IIT), 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 Singles – Alejandra Chavez (RU) def. Guest (IIT), 6-0, 6-2
Roosevelt Men 6, Illinois Tech 1
No. 1 Doubles – Juan Caicedo/Justus Peters (RU) def. Pedro Roca/Hozumi Tada (IIT), 6-3
No. 2 Doubles – Demille Scarabello/Abhay Singh (RU) def. Alexander Faher/Joseph Au (IIT), 6-1
No. 3 Doubles – Tejas Sheth/Pol Dueso Guell (IIT) def. Lluc Mascaro Sierra/Chakib Madcur (RU), 6-3
No. 1 Singles – Caicedo (RU) def. Roca (IIT), 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 Singles – Jules Rumeau (RU) def. Feher (IIT), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Singles – Guell (IIT) def. Juan Pablo Espinosa (RU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 Singles – Madcur (RU) def. Tada (IIT), 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 Singles – Scarabello (RU) def. Au (IIT), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 Singles – Mascaro Sierra (RU) def. Sheth (IIT), 6-2, 7-6(3)
