TROY, N.Y. – The Union College battled hard in singles play against ITA #35 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday afternoon, but the visitors came up a few games short in a 7-2 Liberty League defeat at Sharp Courts.
 
Three of the six singles matches went to three sets and two others needed more than six games to win the opening set, as Union (6-5, 3-2 Liberty League) put a scare into the nationally ranked Engineers. However, Rensselaer (10-3, 3-1 Liberty League) pulled put several close contests to emerge with the win.
 
Senior Marilena Karadimou and first-year Chara Meidani both posted impressive three-set victories for Union on the day. Karadimou took the first set from Nikki Ridenour and, after dropping the second set, bounced back in the third for a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 first-singles victory over the 11th-ranked singles player in the ITA Northeast Regional rankings. Meidani followed a similar script in her third-singles match against Lorna Flores Gonzalez, posting a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory.
 
Junior Gracie Nicol almost followed suit in her second-singles matchup, taking the first set from Alex Mednikova before falling in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Both sophomore Gabby Gatto and first-year Skylar Semon came close to taking the first set in their respective fourth- and sixth-singles matches as well, falling 7-5 in the opening frame before each dropping the second set.
 
The Engineers started the day by sweeping the three doubles matches to put Union in an early hole. Karadimou and Nicol had the most competitive doubles match, falling by an 8-4 score to Flores Gonzalez and Ridenour, who are ranked second in the Northeast Region and eighth nationally by the ITA.
 
Union will return home on Friday for a big Liberty League match against St. Lawrence University beginning at 2:30 p.m. The team is hosting a canned food drive for Schenectady City Mission for the match and the first 50 fans in attendance will receive a free water bottle courtesy of New Country Lexus of Latham.