BALTIMORE, Md. – The historic postseason run for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's tennis team came to an end this morning as the Engineers fell to nationally-ranked and host Johns Hopkins University, 4-0, in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinal round at the JHU Tennis Courts.
Competing in the second NCAA Tournament match in program history after earning the first Liberty League Championship and NCAA victory in school history one day earlier, the Engineers battled the sixth-ranked Blue Jays in several tightly contested matches throughout the lineup.
Johns Hopkins secured the doubles point with wins at the second and third positions. At No. 3 doubles,
Gauri Muliyil and
Kaaviya Kannan competed against the nationally-ranked pairing from Johns Hopkins, while
Victoria Sarabosing and
Kayla Wheeler faced another strong Blue Jays duo at No. 2 doubles. The top doubles match featuring
Anushka Jaiswal and
Nicole Ridenour remained unfinished, with Johns Hopkins leading late in the set when the doubles point was clinched.
In singles play, RPI continued to compete closely despite the final score. At No. 2 singles, Muliyil was in strong position before the match was halted, holding a 6-3, 4-2 lead against Claire Loftus. Sarabosing also battled in a competitive match at No. 4 singles, pushing the opening set to a tiebreak before trailing late in the second when play concluded.
Elsewhere in the lineup,
Neha Saraswatula split the first two sets at No. 5 singles before her match was stopped, while Ridenour and Wheeler competed at the top of the lineup against nationally-ranked opposition. Johns Hopkins ultimately clinched the team victory with wins at the first, third, and sixth singles positions.
