KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The Kutztown University women's tennis team got into the win column for the first time in 2023-24 by blanking Cedar Crest, 7-0, Friday afternoon at the Keystone Courts.
It was a day of firsts for the Maroon and Gold, which saw newcomers
Sierra Smart (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown),
Bieke Roovers (Leiden, Netherlands/Leonardo College) and
Alejandra Vera (Manta, Ecuador/Unidad Educativa Particular) win their first collegiate singles and doubles matches, and fellow freshman
Mallory Barndt (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) pick up her first career singles victory.
Kutztown (1-1) cruised over the Falcons, dropping just two total games in three doubles matches and five games over six singles flights, all straight set wins.
Vera and Roovers teamed up for a 6-0 clean sheet against Katherine Franzone and Brittany Schultz at first doubles. Kutztown's No. 2 pair of
Sarah Lazarchak (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and
Ava Lewis (Camp Hill, Pa./East Pennsboro) and No. 3 duo of Smart and
Caroline Novak (Baldwin, Md./Harford Christian School) each defeated their Cedar Crest (0-1) counterparts by 6-1 scores. For Novak, a junior transfer from Harford CC, it was her first win in a KU uniform.
Four singles matches ended in 6-0, 6-0 sweeps for Kutztown. Vera beat Franzone at No. 1, Roovers defeated Schultz at No. 2, Lewis topped Megan Fielder at No. 4 and Smart handled Jamie Reid at No. 5.
Lazarchak was a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Katie Browning at No. 3 and Barndt bested Grace Huff by matching 6-2, 6-2 scores at No. 6.
Kutztown is scheduled to make up its match at Scranton, originally scheduled for last Friday, Sunday, Sept. 24, beginning at 11 a.m.
