WILMINGTON, Del.—In a closely-contested match which saw three of the six singles competitions go to a third set, host Delaware (1-0) tallied a narrow 4-3 victory over Villanova (0-1) at Delcastle Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon. The three points for the Wildcats came in singles victories at the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 positions as the team got its 2021 season underway.
The match began with the Blue Hens taking the doubles point with wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 matches. Villanova posted a win at No. 1 doubles with senior
Lexi DeNucci (Glastonbury, Conn.) pairing with junior
Annalise Klopfer (Palm Harbor, Fla.) for a 6-4 victory over Eliza Askarova and Sarah Whited. Klopfer later fell to Askarova by a 6-2, 6-4 count in the No. 1 singles match.
Senior
Claudia Althans (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) earned her 40
th career singles victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Isabella Montana in the No. 2 singles match. She is now 40-23 (.635) in singles matches during her Wildcats career, including 27-19 in dual matches while competing exclusively in the top three spots in the lineup.
Junior
Emily Strande (Centennial, Colo.) and sophomore
Caitlin Fisher (Cincinnati, Ohio) each went to three sets to pick up wins in the No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions, respectively. Strande rallied past Julieta Honrubia for a 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision and Fisher outlasted Whited in a thriller to tally a 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3) victory. Fisher picked up where she left off last season when she went 15-1 in singles matches.
Sunday's contest was the first dual match between Villanova and Delaware since March 19, 2017. The Blue Hens lead the all-time series, 19-14.
Next up for the Wildcats is a March 6 match against Drexel in the Vidas Bubble.
DELAWARE 4, VILLANOVA 3
February 14, 2021
Wilmington, Del. | Delcastle Tennis Center
DOUBLES
- Lexi DeNucci/Annalise Klopfer (Villanova) defeated Eliza Askarova/Sarah Whited (Delaware) 6-4
- Jojo Bach/Isabella Montana (Delaware) defeated Claudia Althans/Emily Strande (Villanova) 6-3
- Tayo Adetunji/Julieta Honrubia (Delaware) defeated Sabina Grigorian/Taylor Gould (Villanova) 6-2
SINGLES
- Eliza Askarova (Delaware) defeated Annalise Klopfer (Villanova) 6-2, 6-4
- Claudia Althans (Villanova) defeated Isabella Montana (Delaware) 6-3, 6-4
- Jojo Bach (Delaware) defeated Lexi DeNucci (Villanova) 6-1, 6-3
- Emily Strande (Villanova) defeated Julieta Honrubia (Delaware) 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Caitlin Fisher (Villanova) defeated Sarah Whited (Delaware) 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3)
- Emily Gotkiewicz (Delaware) defeated Olivia Kapp (Villanova) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
