Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. (April 8, 2017) - The Rutgers University-Newark women's tennis team opened the 2017 portion of its schedule in style, defeating Baruch College by a score of 5-4 on The Golden Dome Courts Saturday afternoon.

Rutgers-Newark improves to 5-7 with the win and will return to action at home against Drew University on April 13.

The Scarlet Raiders notched two doubles points to take a 2-1 edge into singles play. The pairing of Jessica Smoot and Nell Karpinski pocketed a convincing 8-0 triumph out of the second slot, and the team of Bryanna Thaxton and Julibeth Hernandez earned a default win at No. 3.

The Bearcats - who entered the match with a strong mark of 11-4 - earned victories at Nos. 1 & 2 singles, but the Scarlet Raiders notched a default triumph at the sixth position, and earned the clinching tallies from the third and six spots in the order. The freshman Karpinski won 6-3, 6-1 over junior Maria Scherbakova at No. 3, and senior Jamie Lee Buhain went 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 to give Rutgers-Newark the necessary five points. 

Rutgers-Newark was in action for the first time since mid-October, and has several more matches this spring. Newark will be home for Drew and FDU-Florham, and hits the road for a tilt with Mount Saint Mary College. 

"It is important for the program to play these matches in the spring," Head Coach Tom Battaglia said. "It gives us an opportunity to compete all year round, and that helps the players continue getting better throughout the year."

Fans should follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter for the latest on Rutgers-Newark women's tennis.