ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure women's tennis team hosts a pair of matches over the weekend. The Bonnies face New Jersey Institute of Technology at 11 a.m. Saturday and Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne at 3 p.m. Sunday at the SBU Fitness Center.
St. Bonaventure (2-8) has lost six straight matches and has been hit by injuries of late. The Bonnies were forced to forfeit a number of singles and doubles matches over five losses the last two weekends.
NJIT, meanwhile, brings a 5-2 record into Saturday's competition, including a pair of victories against Atlantic 10 teams – 6-1 over Fordham and 7-0 over Rhode Island. The Highlanders lost their only road match to this point, against Dartmouth.
Behind the trio of Monika Graff, Carolina Zanotta and Natalia Melibeu, NJIT players have forged a 30-12 mark in singles matches. Graff, Zanotta and Melibeu each are 5-2. In doubles play, the Highlers are 12-6 and led by the 5-2 duo of Graff and Hannelore MacDonald.
While SBU and NJIT haven't met in recent seasons, the Bonnies and IPFW have faced off each of the last three years. In last year's 5-2 loss to IPFW, current sophomore Fatya Amiri scored a singles victory for St. Bonaventure. IPFW topped St. Bonaventure by 7-0 scores in 2010 and 2011.
This year's IPFW team is 6-6 overall and 1-3 on the road. The Mastodons are scheduled to visit Cleveland State on Friday and face Manhattan at Niagara on Sunday morning before meeting the Bonnies.
Led by Mioslava Shastova (11-1) and Caterina Kiefer (8-3), IPFW players are 45-27 in singles matches this year. The Mastodons are 24-12 in doubles competition, led by the 9-3 tandem of Kiefer and Anita Henestrosa.
Sophomore Marissa Brossard leads St. Bonaventure with a 9-8 singles record. Brossard and Amiri have each posted a team-best five victories during the spring season, while senior Kathryn Kvas has added four wins.
SBU has struggled in doubles play, with Brossard and Amiri partnering for a team-leading three wins on the year.
After this weekend, the Bonnies hit the road for a match against Youngstown State at noon on Friday, March 8.
