Box Score Purchase, NY
(Oct. 11, 2015) – The Purchase women's tennis team created a poster memento for
Roula Zyada Sunday in expectation of her Senior Day against Mount Saint Mary.
Among the many highlights of the poster, there was a small description of Roula's name in Arabic, which means "brave."
The senior and her fellow Panthers lived up to the billing and showed their mettle today, upending MSMC, 6-3.
The visiting Knights (3-6, 2-3 Skyline Conference), like the Panthers, are in the mix for the Skyline tournament. Purchase's win keeps the team well in the playoff hunt as the Panthers rolled to 6-4 overall and 2-2 in the Skyline. The top four teams advance to the league tournament. Purchase has three regular-season matches remaining, including Yeshiva at home Tuesday night and Farmingdale State on the road Thursday.
Roula rewarded the Panthers on Senior Day, clinching the victory at No. 3 singles. She outlasted Alissa Gileau 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 in a three-set thriller. The match came down to three singles games – No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6. Zyada won to make it 5-2. Teammate
Caroline Haldeman-Emmerling (JR/Miami Shores, FL) followed at No. 4 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 victory, while MSMC's Mikayla Zaccaria edged
Maggie Lavin (SO/Whitestone, NY) at No. 6 to close the match.
Zyada (SR/Cairo, Egypt) was honored before the match by her teammates and coaching staff.
Head coach Susan Kaminsky put together a program for the senior, which was MCed by
Sports Information Director Bobby Ciafardini. The presentation also included flowers and other gifts, including a certificate of appreciation from the SID office. Zyada will also be honored during Purchase's annual awards banquet in April.
"It was a great day," Zyada said. "This was a huge match for us."
The Knights won at first and sixth singles and captured third doubles.
The Panthers started strong behind the combination of
Emma Yavel (JR/Brooklyn, NY) and
Erika Fulton (JR/Wallingford, CT), who defeated Breanna Scott and Katie Conroy 8-4 at first doubles.
Catherine Pasquale (SO/Valhalla, NY) and Haldeman-Emmerling teamed for an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles. Fulton and Pasquale were also perfect on the day, collecting wins at No. 2 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Fulton was dominant in a 6-0, 6-1 win against Isabella Tartaglione, while Pasquale matched those set scores in an equally impressive showing against Conroy, 6-0, 6-1.
"I'm very pleased with the team's performance today," Kaminsky said afterward. "It's a nice win for us on a nice day for Roula and the program. We're excited about this week. We have Yeshiva, Farmingdale and Sage and the playoff picture is very wide open."
