Eagles Open at Harvard Fall Classic

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Boston College women's tennis team officially opened the 2015-16 season Friday at the Harvard Fall Classic, a three-day event hosted by the Crimson.

The Eagles went a collective 8-1 on Friday to start the season in the seven-team tournament that features BC, Boston University, Columbia, Connecticut, Wake Forest, Yale and host Harvard. BC played in three different singles brackets and two doubles brackets.

"It was fun to get our season started today," head coach Nigel Bentley said. "The players have been working very hard in practice and it was nice to play some real matches. Jackie, our lone freshman, won her first college match, so that was a highlight of the day.

With unseasonable temperatures in the Northeast recently, heat was a factor on the hard courts with air temperatures in the mid-80s.

"I was pleased with how we handled the heat. It was 90 plus degrees on court and that was a big factor. Also we played the no ad points very well. We're looking forward to tomorrow," Bentley added.

In the Red Singles bracket, Asiya Dair had a bye to the second round, and will face Columbia's Rima Asatrian on Saturday afternoon.

Katya Vasilyev defeated Wake Forest's Anna Ulyashchenko in three sets, claiming the 2-6, 6-0, 6-4 win to advance to the second round.

Lexi Borr also earned a win in her opening match, defeating Columbia's Star Makarome, 6-3, 6-0.

In the Green Singles bracket, Emily Safron also claimed a win over Yale's Carol Finke, 6-4, 6-4, but Wan-Yi Sweeting fell to Connecticut's Emma Alderman, 6-2, 6-3.

In the Blue Singles bracket, Jackie Urbinati claimed her first collegiate win with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Columbia's Nada Zaher.

In doubles action, Borr and Urbinati teamed up to defeat Yale's Sherry Li and Finke, 8-3, after taking a bye in the first round.

Vasilyev and Safron posted two wins, defeating Columbia's Adi Milstein and Makarome (8-4) and Harvard's Annika Ringblom and Erica Oosterhout (8-6).

Finally, Sweeting and Dair picked up an 8-3 win over Columbia's Andrea Kevakian and Vivian Cheng and then drew a walkover in next round.

The Eagles return for day 2 of action on Saturday morning.

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