NEWARK, N.J. – Rhode Island suffered its first loss of the season, falling at NJIT 4-1 Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Grace Darcy provided the lone victory of the day for the Rams (4-1). She recorded a straight-set win over Shalom Salvi at No. 3 singles.

Junior Nikki Fernando played a tightly-contested match at No. 1 singles. She went toe-to-toe with NJIT's Laura Wipfli in a marathon three-set match. Wipfli emerged from the battle with a 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-2 win.

"This was not the result we wanted today, but congratulations to NJIT," Rhode Island coach Jonas Brobeck said. "They stuck with their game plans better in the big moments of the match. There are still a lot of positives we can build on from today and an opportunity tomorrow against Hofstra."

Rhode Island is back in action Sunday at Hofstra. The match begins at 11 a.m. at the Port Washington Tennis Academy in Port Washington, N.Y.


NJIT 4, Rhode Island 1                                                                                    
Feb. 15, 2025                                                                        
                                                                                         
Singles
Laura Wipfli (NJIT) def. Nikki Fernando (URI); 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-4
Paula Menendez Alvarez (NJIT) def. Sophie Herrman (URI); 6-4, 6-1
Grace Darcy (URI) def. Shalom Salvi (NJIT); 6-2, 6-3
Irene Cocero (NJIT) def. Anastasia Pettersson (URI); 6-4, 7-5
Arina Babkova (NJIT) DNF vs. Klara Nelander (URI); 6-1, 3-4, DNF
Feyza Aydin (NJIT) DNF vs. Blake Rothchild (URI); 6-3, DNF
                                                                                         
Doubles
Laura Wipfli/Irene Cocero (NJIT) def. Nikki Fernando/Ava Grnja (URI); 6-4
Shalom Salvi/Arina Babkova (NJIT) def. Grace Darcy/Anastasia Petterson (URI); 7-5
Feyza Aydin/Paula Menendez Alvarez (NJIT) def. Klara Nelander/Steph Hylton (URI); 6-4