O'Donnell, Barbetta and Haas accept the finalist trophy. (PHOTO BY Mike Broglio/SportsPix)

Fakas lifts Panthers to title by rallying for three-set win at #1 singles, earns Tournament MVP honors

WEYMOUTH, Mass. (October 29, 2017) – Second-seeded Adelphi University, ranked No. 5 in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Region rankings, captured its third-straight Northeast-10 Conference women's tennis championship with a 5-4 triumph over top-seeded and regular season champions Stonehill College, ranked sixth in the region, at The Weymouth Club tonight.

Adelphi (14-1, 11-1 NE10) wins the tournament championship for the third straight year at Stonehill's (14-1, 12-0 NE10) expense, taking a 5-4 victory for the second straight year after posting a 5-2 decision in 2015. Senior Rebecca Fakas (Little Neck, New York/Benjamin N. Cardozo), the NE10 Player of the Year and 16th-ranked singles player in the ITA East Regional rankings, earned Tournament MVP honors after rallying from a set down against Stonehill senior Victoria Barbetta (Wesley Chapel, Florida/Saddlebrook Prep) to claim the deciding point at No. 1 singles. Fakas and Barbetta were both named to the NE10 All-Tournament team, along with Adelphi senior Elizabeth Kallenberg (Port Washington, New York/Paul D. Schreiber) and junior Samantha Perri (Floral Park, New York/Floral Park Memorial), as well as Stonehill freshman Kate Cunningham (Somerset, England/IMG Academy (Fla.)).

Barbetta took the opening set 6-3 and was up a break in the second, before Fakas rallied to win the second set 6-4, and then followed with the third, 6-2, after Stonehill had rallied with wins at No. 3 and 6 singles to knot the match at 4-4. Fakas and junior Karen Serina (East Islip, New York/East Islip), the region's No. 4-ranked doubles team, also notched an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles for the Panthers, which claimed a key 2-1 edge in doubles play after senior Vanja Savic (Woodside, New York/Beacon School) and freshman Nicole Kielan (Valley Stream, New York/Valley Stream South) notched an 8-4 win at No. 3.

Cunningham earned All-Tournament team honors after earning singles and doubles wins tonight. (PHOTO BY Mike Broglio/SportsPix)

Adelphi also got a big win from Kallenberg, who handed Stonehill sophomore Alexandra Vo (Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania/Nazareth Academy) her first loss to an NE10 opponent in her career with a 7-5, 6-1 decision at No. 2 singles, avenging two previous losses to Vo and pulling the Panthers within a point of the title.

Stonehill followed with the next two wins as freshman Isabelle Porter (Jupiter, Florida/William T. Dwyer) held off Kielan 6-4, 7-5 at No. 3 singles, and senior Colleen O'Donnell (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) battled past Savic 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6.

Cunningham was a double-winner for Stonehill, teaming up with Barbetta for an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles. She followed that up with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 5 singles against Serina for the Skyhawks first singles point, just moments after Perri had defeated junior Nicole Downey (Groveland, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 for the Panthers.    

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