Senior co-captain Meryl Lawrence leads the Skyhawks into a 16th NE-10 Tournament appearance on Tuesday. |
Third-seeded Skyhawks open quest for fifth NE-10 Championship against sixth-seeded Greyhounds Tuesday at 2 p.m.
NE-10 Women's Tennis Championship Central
Admission for the NE-10 tournament match is free of charge and in the event of inclement weather, the match will be moved inside to the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex. Live results will be available via www.stonehillskyhawks.com. Stonehill (10-2, 10-2 NE-10), which is making its record matching 16th NE-10 Tournament appearance this week, has won a pair of titles under the current tournament bracket format in 2009 and 2013, reaching the championship match eight times. The Skyhawks also won two titles under the old flighted points system in 1991 and '92 before the league switched to its present format in 1999. Assumption (7-7, 7-5 NE-10) is making its seventh NE-10 Tournament appearance and first since 2009 when the Greyhounds were handed a 5-0 defeat by eventual champions Stonehill in the first round.
Stonehill enters the postseason winners of two straight after an 8-1 win over Bentley University to round out the NE-10 regular season schedule on Friday at Watt Courts. The Skyhawks have gotten impressive contributions from three freshmen in head coach Marc Maloney's first season at the helm. Classmates Victoria Barbetta (Wesley Chapel, Florida/Saddlebrook Prep), Emma Prinos (Foxboro, Massachusetts/Foxboro) and Colleen O'Donnell (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) have posted a combined 29-4 singles record in NE-10 play for the Skyhawks this fall.
Junior co-captain Bailey Paradiso is among three Skyhawks in Tuesday's expected lineup who were part of their 2013 NE-10 Championship team. |
O'Donnell has yet to lose an NE-10 match in singles and doubles play in her first collegiate season, posting a combined 20-0 clip. She is 9-0 in singles play, including a 7-0 mark at No. 6 singles, to go with an 11-0 doubles mark, including 10-0 with senior co-captain Meryl Lawrence (North Scituate, Rhode Island/Mount Saint Charles Academy). Lawrence is a combined 23-2 in singles and doubles play so far this season, posting a 12-2 singles mark, including 9-1 in the NE-10. Lawrence enters the NE-10 Tournament with an overall combined record of 119-35 (.773), including a combined record of 75-7 (.915) in singles and doubles play in NE-10 matches.
Prinos is a combined 23-7 in singles and doubles play in her first collegiate season. She has posted a 12-3 singles record, including 10-2 in the NE-10, with a 4-2 mark at No. 3 singles. Prinos has an 11-4 doubles record with two different playing partners, including a 9-3 mark in the NE-10. She and her current partner, junior co-captain Bailey Paradiso (Birmingham, Michigan/Marian) have teamed up to post a 3-2 mark in the NE-10. Paradiso is a combined 17-11 while competing at No. 1 singles and doubles for the majority of the fall season for Stonehill. She is 8-6 in singles play, including a 7-5 mark in the NE-10.
Barbetta is a combined 21-7 in singles and doubles play in her first collegiate season, posting a combined 19-5 mark in the NE-10. She boasts an 11-3 singles record overall, including 10-2 in NE-10 matches, winning all five matches to date at no. 4 singles. Barbetta is 10-4 in doubles play with three different partners, including a 3-1 mark with junior Analise Kump (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) her current doubles teammate.
Assumption seeks its first NE-10 Tournament win in program history on Tuesday, having dropped its previous six postseason matches. The Greyhounds are winners of two straight and three of four after a 9-0 win at American International College to close out the regular season on October 14.
Colleen O'Donnell is among three freshman playing a major role for the Skyhawks and is a combined 20-0 in her first collegiate season. |
Freshman Cassie Burbine (Londonderry, New Hampshire/Londonderry) has posted a combined 16-9 record in singles and doubles play in her first collegiate season. She is 8-4 at singles, including a 7-4 mark in the NE-10, having posted a 6-3 record at No. 2. Burbine is 8-5 overall in doubles play with two different playing partners, including an 8-4 mark with sophomore Hannah Riley (Ellington, Connecticut/Ellington) at No. 1 doubles. Riley is a combined 16-10 this fall, with a 7-5 singles record, including 6-4 in the NE-10 and 6-3 at No. 3 singles.
Junior Aubrey Lovejoy (Holden, Massachusetts/Wachusett Regional) has posted a combined 15-3 record in singles and doubles play this season for Assumption. She and sophomore Kristen Carbone (Taunton, Massachusetts/Coyle & Cassidy) have teamed up for an 8-0 doubles record, including 6-0 at No. 3. Lovejoy has also posted a 6-3 singles record, including 6-1 at No. 6.
Stonehill posted a 7-2 victory over Assumption in their regular season matchup at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden, Massachusetts, back on September 9. Kump led the double-winners for the Skyhawks with wins at No. 2 singles and doubles. She and Prinos opened by teaming up for an 8-3 doubles victory and then Kump added a 6-0, 6-2 singles triumph over Burbine. Prinos was also a double-winner in her collegiate debut after claiming a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 4 singles against junior Marie Black (Palmyra, New York/Palmyra-Macedon). Lawrence and O'Donnell rounded out the double-winners for Stonehill, with the duo combining for an 8-2 decision at No. 3 doubles as the Skyhawks carried a 2-1 match advantage following doubles play. Lawrence followed with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles against Carbone, while O'Donnell registered a 6-1, 6-2 decision over junior Cassy Waung (Bolton, Connecticut/East Catholic) at No. 6.
Freshman Aida Vila (Girona, Spain) earned the lone singles point for Assumption by rallying for a 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 10-2 triumph at No. 1 singles against Barbetta. Burbine and Riley earned the Greyhounds a point with their 8-5 decision at No. 1 doubles against Barbetta and Paradiso.
The winner of tomorrow's first round match will advance to Friday's semifinal round to face No. 2-seed Southern New Hampshire University, ranked tenth in the region, in Manchester, New Hampshire, at 2 p.m. The NE-10 Championship is scheduled for Sunday, October 27, at the home of the highest remaining seed at 1 p.m.
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2014 Northeast-10 Conference
Women's Tennis Tournament
First Round
Tuesday, October 21
#6 Assumption (7-7, 7-5 NE-10) at #3 Stonehill (10-2, 10-2 NE-10), 2 p.m.
#5 Saint Michael's at #4 Merrimack (9-4, 8-4 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Semifinals
Friday, April 25 – Semifinals
Merrimack/Saint Michael's winner at #1 Adelphi (14-3, 12-0 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Stonehill/Assumption winner at #2 Southern New Hampshire (11-1, 11-1 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Championship
Sunday, April 27
Hosted by highest remaining seed - 1:00 p.m.