Senior co-captain Analise Kump is the reigning NE-10 Tournament MVP and leads the Skyhawks into the NE-10 Tournament. |
Third-seeded Skyhawks open tournament title defense at Watt Courts at 2 p.m.
NE-10 Women's Tennis Seedings Release
NE-10 Tournament First Round Game Program
EASTON, Mass. (October 20, 2015) – Third-seeded Stonehill College, ranked sixth in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Regional rankings, opens defense of its Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship as it hosts sixth-seeded Le Moyne College for an NE-10 Tournament first round matchup at Charles Watt Tennis Courts on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Admission for the Purple & White NE-10 tournament matchup is free of charge and in the event of inclement weather, the match will be played inside the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex. Live results will be available via stonehillskyhawks.com.
Stonehill (11-3, 10-2 NE-10), which is making its record 17th NE-10 Tournament appearance, captured its fifth postseason conference championship with a 5-3 victory over fourth-seeded Merrimack College at Watt Courts last October. The Skyhawks have appeared in the final nine times under the current tournament bracket format, also winning the title in 2009 and 2013, while winning two championships under the old flighted points system in 1991 and '92 before the league switched to its present format in 1999.
Stonehill features an experienced lineup that returns four members of last year's NE-10 Championship lineup, five with postseason experience overall, with its four seniors seeking to capture the third NE-10 title of their careers. The Skyhawks are winners of eight of nine heading into the NE-10 Tournament. Senior co-captain Analise Kump (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth), the NE-10 Championship MVP last fall and sophomore Victoria Barbetta (Wesley Chapel, Florida/Saddlebrook Prep) lead Stonehill into the postseason having posted a combined 45-12 record this season. They have each won their last eight singles matches as well.
Sophomore Victoria Barbetta won all 11 of her NE-10 matches this fall. |
Kump is a combined 19-6 in singles and doubles play this fall, posting a 9-2 singles record, including 9-1 in NE-10 play, with a 5-2 mark at No. 2 and 4-0 at No. 3. She is 10-4 in doubles play, including 7-2 in the NE-10, teaming up with Barbetta for a 9-4 record, including 7-2 in the NE-10. Barbetta has posted a combined singles and doubles record of 26-6, posting a 15-2 singles record, including a perfect 11-0 record in the NE-10, with a 7-0 record at No. 3 and 5-0 at No. 4 to go with a win at No. 3.
Freshman Nicole Downey (Groveland, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) has made an immediate contribution in her first collegiate season, posting a combined record of 26-3. She has a 15-1 singles record, including 7-1 in the NE-10, going 3-0 at No. 5 and 3-1 at No. 5. Downey has posted an 11-2 doubles record, including 9-1 in the NE-10, combining with senior Kirsti Toegemann (Narragansett, Rhode Island/The Lincoln School) for a 5-2 record, including 4-1 in the NE-10.
Toegemann is a combined 13-8 in singles and doubles play this fall, posting a 4-3 singles record. Sophomore Emma Prinos (Foxboro, Massachusetts/Foxboro) has added an 8-4 singles record, including 8-1 in the NE-10, posting a 5-1 mark at No. 4. Senior Bailey Paradiso (Birmingham, Michigan/Marian) rounds out the Skyhawks lineup at No. 1 singles, while teaming up with Prinos at No. 1 doubles.
Le Moyne (8-6, 7-5 NE-10) is making its eighth NE-10 Tournament appearance, having never reached the semifinal round. The Dolphins clinched their first tournament bid since the 2009-10 season with their 9-0 win over the University of New Haven in their penultimate NE-10 match on October 10. Le Moyne enters the tournament with a ten day layoff since their last match against Merrimack on October 11.
Freshman Nicole Downey has made an impact in the Skyhawks lineup, posting a combined 26-3 record this fall. |
Sophomore Amica Benoit-Limosani (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec/College Saint-Maurice) leads Le Moyne with a combined record of 22-8 in singles and doubles play this fall. She has posted an 11-4 mark in both singles and doubles, notching a 10-2 record in the NE-10 for singles, going 7-3 at No. 2 and winning all four matches at No. 3. She and freshman Tiffany Dun (Templestowe, Australia) have teamed up for an 8-3 doubles record, including 7-1 in NE-10 play, with an 8-2 mark at No. 1. Dun is 7-7 in singles play in her first collegiate season, including a 6-5 NE-10 record, going 7-6 at No. 1.
Sophomore Rithika Vajjiravelu (Chennai, India) is a combined 15-10 in singles and doubles this season, posting a 9-3 singles mark, including 8-2 in the NE-10, with a 5-2 record at No. 3. She and junior Christina Perry (Endwell, New York/Seton Catholic) have teamed up for a 3-3 record at No. 2 doubles.
| Coach's Corner with Marc Maloney |
Stonehill posted a 6-3 victory over Le Moyne in their regular season meeting on October 3 in Syracuse, New York. Kump and Barbetta led four double-winners for Stonehill as the pair combined for an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles and then Kump followed that up with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Vajjiravelu at No. 3 singles to clinch the team win for the Skyhawks. Barbetta added a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles against Perry. Prinos and Downey also earned singles and doubles wins for Stonehill, while Benoit-Limosani and Dun combined to earn all three points for Le Moyne. They picked up an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles for the Dolphins and then Dun defeated Paradiso at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-2. Benoit-Limosani added a 7-5, 6-4 decision at No. 2 singles against Toegemann.
The winner of Wednesday's first round clash will advance to Friday's semifinal round and visit second-seeded Southern New Hampshire University (11-1, 11-1 NE-10) at 2 p.m. The Penmen earned a first round bye as well as NE-10 regular season champions Adelphi University (13-0, 12-0 NE-10). Fourth-seeded Merrimack (12-3, 9-3 NE-10) hosts fifth-seeded Assumption College (9-5, 8-4 NE-10) in Wednesday's other first round matchup. The NE-10 Championship match will be played on Sunday, October 25, at the home of the highest remaining seed at 1 p.m.
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2015 Northeast-10 Conference
Women's Tennis Tournament
First Round
Wednesday, October 21
#6 Le Moyne (8-6, 7-5 NE-10) at #3 Stonehill (11-3, 10-2 NE-10), 2 p.m.
#5 Assumption (9-5, 8-4 NE-10) at #4 Merrimack (12-3, 9-3 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Semifinal
Friday, October 23
Le Moyne/Stonehill winner at #2 Southern New Hampshire (11-1, 11-1 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Assumption/Merrimack winner at #1 Adelphi (13-0, 12-0 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Championship
Sunday, October 25
Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed, 1 p.m.