Box Score NEWARK, N.J. ---  The NJIT women's tennis team won its fourth straight match Friday evening, pulling out a 4-3 victory over the Fordham Rams at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreation Facility.

The victory moved the Highlanders to 9-3 overall in the Spring and kept the team's home record perfect at 6-0.

NJIT found itself behind early. 1-0, after conceding the doubles point to the Rams. Aya El Sayed and Adara Omar won the second flight first but Fordham rallied to win the first and third flights to clinch the point.

The Highlanders responded in singles by claiming the first three completed flights. Amira Badawi tied the match with a straight set win at No. 2 (6-0, 6-2), Mouna Bouzgarrou put NJIT up 2-1 after winning No. 4 in three sets (7-6, 4-6, 6-0), and Joleta Budiman rallied back from a first set loss to take No. 1 in three sets (6-7, 6-4, 6-1).

Fordham evened the match at 3-3 after a pair of three-set victories at No. 3 and No. 5, leaving the No. 6 flight as the deciding match.

Advaita Saravanan took the first set of the flight (6-4), narrowly lost the second (6-7) and clinched the flight and match with a 6-4 third set triumph.

OTHER NOTES
- Bouzgarrou has compiled the best singles record on the team so far this Spring and one of the best in program history. In her 11 singles matches in 2020, Bouzgarrou has produced a 10-1 record.
- Budiman's singles victory came over the No. 74 ranked singles player in Arina Taluyenko.

NEXT UP
NJIT begins a five-match road schedule next week (March 14) with a Noon match at Cornell.

NJIT 4, Fordham 3
3/6/2020 at Newark, NJ (Naimoli Center)
Singles competition
1. Joleta Budiman (NJIT) def. Arina Taluyenko (FOR) 6-7, 6-4, 6-1
2. Amira Badawi (NJIT) def. Maia Balce (FOR) 6-0, 6-2
3. Valeriya Deminova (FOR) def. Aya El Sayed (NJIT) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
4. Mouna Bouzgarrou (NJIT) def. Weronika Pociej (FOR) 7-6, 4-6, 6-0
5. Avery Aude (FOR) def. Shamika Dhar (NJIT) 0-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. Advaita Saravanan (NJIT) def. Nicole Li (FOR) 6-4, 6-7, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Avery Aude/Genevieve Quenville (FOR) def. Joleta Budiman/Amira Badawi (NJIT) 6-3
2. Aya El Sayed/Adara Omar (NJIT) def. Valeriya Deminova/Nicole Li (FOR) 6-1
3. Arina Taluyenko/Weronika Pociej (FOR) def. Mouna Bouzgarrou/Advaita Saravanan (NJIT) 6-4

Match Notes
Fordham 3-7
NJIT 9-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,4,1,3,5,6)