Women's Tennis got to compete at the USTA/Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that hosts the US Open every year, posing for a team photo at Arthur Ashe, Jr. Stadium. |
Porter reaches quarterfinals, while Vo makes deep runs in singles and doubles
USTA/ITA Division II East Regional Website
FLUSHING, N.Y. (September 16, 2018) – Junior Alexandra Vo and sophomore Isabelle Porter both made deep runs at the USTA/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Region Championships, hosted by the USTA/Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this weekend.
Porter, ranked 15th in the Oracle/ITA East Regional rankings, earned a pre-tournament seed and advanced to the quarterfinal round after reaching the Round of 16 as a freshman a year ago. It marks the first time in program history a Stonehill women's tennis player has reached the singles quarters. She also teamed up with sophomore Bethany Hammond to reach the third round of the doubles championship. Hammond also enjoyed a solid weekend, advancing to the second round of the singles main draw after winning a pair of qualifying matches to open the tournament.
Porter opened the singles main draw with a hard-fought win over Chestnut Hill University's Barbara Broville in a third set tiebreaker after the two split the first two sets. Porter followed that up by advancing to the third round after Marija Milic from University of the District of Columbia retired with Porter in front big 6-4, 5-1 in the second set. Porter then cruised past Le Moyne College's Birdem Oz in the third round before being dealt a 6-4, 6-4 setback to Marisa Ostoja from Queens (N.Y.) College in the quarterfinals. Ostoja ended two Skyhawks tournaments on the weekend.
Porter is the first Stonehill tennis student-athlete to reach the singles quarterfinals. |
Porter and Hammond opened their doubles championship with an 8-2 victory over Taylor Pankewicz and Meritxell Jimeno Vicente from American International College, and then cruised past Mallory Nolte and Sabrina Blasi-Smith from Wilmington (Del.) University in the second round, 8-1. Porter and Hammond's doubles run would end in the third round to eventual semifinalists Luisa Auffarth and Reehan Rashad from Queens, 8-1.
Vo was also part of two deep runs, reaching the singles Round of 16 for the second straight year, despite being placed into Friday qualifiers. She also combined with junior Annelise Howick to make the doubles quarterfinals. Adelphi's Samantha Perri served as Vo's nemesis in each competition as she combined with Nicole Kielen for an 8-4 doubles win over Vo and Howick in the quarters and then Perri rallied past Vo 3-6, 6-4, (7-5) in the singles Round of 16. Vo led Perri 3-2 in the second set after taking the first, but fell victim to cramps and was unable to hold on to reach the quarters along with Porter.
Vo opened her singles tournament with a first round bye in the qualification round and then reached the main draw with an 8-2 win over Josefina Torres Martin from Concordia (N.Y.) College. Vo cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 decision in the Round of 64 over Kaitlyn Byrnes from NYIT and then upended second-seeded Luisa Auffarth from Queens 3-6, 6-4, (11-9) in the second round.
Vo and Howick, the No. 9-ranked doubles pairing in the Oracle/ITA East Region rankings, opened their tournament with an 8-2 win over Broville and Mia Covic from Chestnut Hill in the Round of 64 and then eased past Andrea Sandoval and Dea Lako from Post University, 8-1 in the third round. Vo/Howick then battled past Manuela Cornejo and Anna Hortelano-Pey from Goldey-Beacom College in a tiebreaker for a 9-8 decision.
Vo and Howick reached the doubles quarterfinals this weekend. |
Hammond also emerged from the qualifying rounds to reach the second round of the main draw in an impressive weekend for her. She rolled past Anna Ristova from St. Thomas Aquinas College, 8-1 in her first qualifier and then reached the main draw with an 8-3 victory over Rachel Wagner from Southern New Hampshire University. Hammond rallied from a set down to Monica Borobia from NYIT in the first round of the main draw for a 4-6, 6-4, (9-7) decision, before falling to eventual semifinalist Ostoja.
Freshmen Samantha Ormesher and Emma Markaryan also competed in the main singles draw this weekend for Stonehill. Ormesher reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Elin Anderson from Goldey-Beacom and was then defeated by eventual semifinalist Nathabi Mogopodi from Roberts Wesleyan in the second round 6-4, 6-3.
Ormesher and junior Caroline Ray reached the second round of the doubles draw with an 8-0 shutout of Alice Calabrese and Mireya Ortega from American International. The duo was then defeated 8-2 by quarterfinalists Abby Gamarnik and Karla Miletic from University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in the second round.
Stonehill (1-0, 1-0 NE10), ranked No. 42 in the Oracle/ITA Division II national rankings, is back on action on Wednesday, when it visits the University of New Haven for a Northeast-10 Conference match at 3 p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Sunday, September 23, to host Le Moyne College at noon.
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