QUEENS, N.Y. — The Pratt Institute women's tennis team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 6-1 victory over future conference foe Baruch College on Saturday afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The Cannoneers (9-0) established an early advantage by sweeping the doubles point. First-year Olivia Tao (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and senior Victoria Hatala (Brooklyn, N.Y.) struck first with a 6-2 victory at the No. 2 flight. Junior Satoka Shibasaki (Tokyo, Japan) and first-year Sophia Schafler (West Palm Beach, Fla.) quickly followed, clinching the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 3.
The top pairing of junior Pallavi Verghese (Fayetteville, Ark.) and first-year Judith Song (Sharon, Mass.) completed the doubles sweep for the black-and-gold by battling to a 7-5 victory.
Pratt's momentum continued into singles play, where the bottom of the lineup quickly extended the lead. First-year Quinn Steinman (Greendale, Wis.) dropped just one game at No. 6, securing a 6-0, 6-1 result. Tao matched her teammate's efficiency, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 to put the hosts one point away from the overall victory.
Shibasaki delivered the match-clinching point for the Cannoneers at No. 3 singles, playing steady baseline tennis to post a 6-2, 6-2 triumph.
With the team outcome decided, the remaining flights provided competitive finishes. Song earned a hard-fought 6-4, 6-3 victory at the No. 2 position. At No. 5 singles, Schafler showcased her composure to close out the afternoon. After breezing through the opening set and narrowly dropping the second, the first-year outlasted her opponent to win in a third set super-tiebreaker, 6-0, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (10-4).
Baruch (9-7) picked up its lone point of the match at the top singles flight, where Aishika Yadav handed Verghese a 6-4, 6-1 defeat, snapping Pratt's four-match stretch of 7-0 victories.
Pratt closes out the regular season and looks to lock up the No. 1 seed for the 2026 Atlantic East Conference Championships hosting Marymount University on Saturday, April 18 at 12 p.m. at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
