Boxscore
OAKDALE, N.Y. – The Goldey-Beacom College women's tennis team, without two players in the usual starting lineup, still managed to defeat Dowling College, 7-2 on Sat. afternoon and stay undefeated at 8-0.
The Lightning, without the services of No. 1 doubles and No. 3 singles player Marina Sales and No. 6 singles player Gabriela Chaves, still managed to win five of the six singles matches and two of the three doubles matches.
GBC, already off to the best start in program history with its seventh win of the season against Caldwell on Oct. 1, has now set a record for the longest win streak in the program's short history, besting last year's mark of seven straight wins from Oct. 3 – Oct. 13.
Dowling, of the perennially tough East Coast Conference, fell to 9-5 overall with the loss. Last year, the Golden Lions reached the ECC championship before bowing out to the No. 1 team in the region, Queens College. This year, they are 7-3 in their conference and had previously beaten two Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference schools (Caldwell and Georgian Court).
In doubles play, GBC's No. 1 pairing of sophomore Anastasia Chibrikova and freshman Marie-Louise Klein were upended 8-3 by Dowling's Robyn Romanoff and Amber O'Malley, but the Lightning once again claimed victories at the second and third doubles.
Sophomore Blanca Sancho and freshman Gabriela Chaves won a very competitive second-flight doubles match against Cristina Hoffman and Cristina Sousa, 9-8 (4) and sophomore Vanessa Leon and freshman Laura Cure stayed perfect at No. 3 doubles with an 8-1 victory.
Leon and Cure improved to 7-0 at third doubles while the team as a whole is a perfect 8-0 at the third doubles flight. The team is also 7-1 at second doubles and only once this season was unable to come away with at least two doubles points heading into singles play (vs. Philadelphia, 9/24).
Head coach Joe Kissel for the second straight match had to shift his singles lineup around due to the fact that Sales was unavailable due to illness and Chaves was limited to just doubles action because of a severe blister on her foot.
Sancho returned to the No. 1 singles slot to face Romanoff and lost a tough match, 6-1, 6-2. Klein was put to the test by Hoffman at the second flight and came away with an impressive 6-2, 6-7, 10-8 victory. (A match tiebreaker was played in lieu of third set). Klein is now 6-2 for the season (5-2 at the No. 2 spot).
Sophomore Melanie Bonomo, the CACC leader in singles wins, came away with another victory, this time at the third flight as she beat Sousa, 6-0, 6-0. Bonomo is now 8-0 overall with wins at three different flights (2nd, 3rd and 4th).
Cure also stayed unbeaten as she moved up to the No. 4 slot to beat O'Malley 6-2, 6-0 and improve to 7-0 for the season. Senior captain Luciana Pereira (5-0) won at the fifth flight, 6-2, 6-0 and Leon won her second singles match of the season at the sixth flight, 6-0, 6-0.
The Lightning are scheduled to visit Division I Delaware State on Mon. at 2 p.m., weather permitting. The Hornets are 3-0 this season with wins against St. Francis (7-0), Rider (7-0) and La Salle (6-1). This match will mark the third time GBC plays a Division I team. GBC played La Salle in 2008 and 2009 and won both times.
