Women's Tennis Opens Title Defense Against New Haven - Stonehill

Third-seeded Skyhawks host sixth-seeded Chargers in first round match Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Vo leads the Skyhawks into the NE10 Tournament for the fourth-straight year, having finished her NE10 regular season with a 40-0 career record

EASTON, Mass. (October 22, 2019) – Third-seeded Stonehill College, ranked No. 4 in the most recent Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Region rankings, opens defense of its 2018 Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship when it hosts sixth-seeded University of New Haven for a first round match on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

The match is scheduled to be played at Charles Watt Tennis Courts, but in the event of inclement weather would be moved inside to the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex. Admission for the match is free of charge, with live results available via stonehillskyhawks.com and updates on Twitter from @GoStonehill.

Stonehill (9-3, 9-1 NE10), which captured a share of its fourth-straight NE10 regular season championship last week and tenth overall, is making its NE10 record 21^st Tournament appearance this week. The Skyhawks will face New Haven (8-5, 5-5 NE10), which is making its third NE10 Tournament appearance, in the postseason for the first time tomorrow. The winner of the match advances to Friday's NE10 Semifinal match at second-seeded Southern New Hampshire University (11-1, 9-1 NE10) at 1 p.m.

Stonehill, winners of 33 of its last 34 NE10 regular season matches, enters the week in search of its seventh NE10 Tournament Championship after capturing a Conference record sixth title with a 4-0 win over former NE10 member Merrimack College last fall. The Skyhawks have reached the championship match five-straight years and ten times over the last 11, with a record 13 finals appearances overall. Stonehill has won the regular season and tournament championships in the same year just three times in its history after last year's double, having won the tournament in 2018, 2014, 2013 and 2009, to go with titles in 1991 and 1992 under the old flighted points system before the league switched to its present dual match tournament format in 1999.

New Haven seeks its first NE10 Tournament victory after having dropped first round matches in 2013 and 2018. The Chargers were seeded fifth in last year's NE10 Tournament before falling at fourth-seeded Le Moyne College, 4-1, in Syracuse, New York. Stonehill posted a 7-0 triumph over New Haven in the season-opener for both on Watt Courts back on September 5. Junior Isabelle Porter, sophomore Samantha Ormesher and freshman Cristina Solorzano Valencia were all double-winners to lead Stonehill in Hall of Fame head coach Pam Arpé's return as head coach.

Porter is expected back in the Skyhawks lineup for the NE10 Tournament

Arpé, a 2017 inductee into the Stonehill Athletic Hall of Fame and two-time NE10 Coach of the Year, is in her 11^th season as the head coach of the women's tennis program, returning this fall after five years of retirement. She enjoyed ten successful seasons with the Skyhawks leading into her retirement in 2014, leading the team to three NE10 regular season and two NE10 Tournament titles in that span. Arpé's lineup includes regionally ranked senior Alexandra Vo and Porter, headlining a deep singles lineup.

Vo, a five-time All-NE10 performer over her career to date, is ranked No. 15 in the Oracle/ITA Division II East Region rankings, having posted an 11-1 singles record this season, including 8-0 in the NE10 to finish off a perfect 40-0 mark in NE10 regular season singles matches for her career. She reached the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Division II East Region Championships in September. Porter is the 13^th-ranked singles player in the East Region, having posted a 3-4 record overall, including 3-3 in the NE10, to go with a 9-5 doubles mark. She and Ormesher have posted a 6-4 record at No. 1 doubles for the Skyhawks, including 6-2 in the NE10. Porter also reached the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA East Regional, with freshman Steffi Antao, before being edged by teammates Solorzano Valencia and senior Annelise Howick .

Solorzano Valencia has made an immediate impact for Stonehill in her freshman season. The three-time NE10 Rookie of the Week, who also earned NE10 Player of the Week accolades for the first time today, also reached the USTA/ITA East Region singles quarterfinals in September. She is a combined 26-7 in singles and doubles play this fall, including 13-3 in singles, with an 8-2 NE10 mark, while she and Howick are 12-3 at No. 2 doubles, including 7-1 in the NE10.

Solorzano Valencia has had an immediate impact for the Skyhawks during her freshman season

Ormesher, the 2018 NE10 Championship Most Outstanding Player, is a combined 14-11 in singles and doubles play this fall, including a 7-5 singles mark, going 5-3 in the NE10, to go with a 7-6 doubles record, including 7-3 in the NE10. She earned All-NE10 first team honors as a freshman at No. 3 singles, to go with second team honors at No. 2 doubles as a freshman.

Antao and sophomore Emma Markaryan have been solid in the middle of the Stonehill lineup this season. Markaryan, an All-NE10 first team performer at No. 5 singles as a freshman, is a combined 10-3 this season, posting a 10-2 singles record, including 9-1 in the NE10, while teaming up with senior Caroline Ray for a 2-1 doubles record, winning both NE10 matches at No. 3. Antao is a combined 17-6 in singles and doubles play in her first collegiate season, posting a 10-3 singles mark, including 9-0 in the NE10, while adding a 7-3 doubles record (4-1 NE10).

Ray has had a strong fall for Stonehill at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles, posting a combined 11-5 record, including a 4-1 singles record, going 4-0 in the NE10, with a 7-5 doubles mark with four different playing partners, including 7-2 in the NE10. She earned All-NE10 first team honors at No. 3 doubles as a junior.

Third year New Haven head coach Hannah Still and the Chargers enter the NE10 Tournament winners of two straight and three of their last four after two impressive wins against East Coast Conference members Roberts Wesleyan University (7-0) and Saint Thomas Aquinas College (4-3) over the last week.

Junior Stephanie Gonzalez, the 2017 NE10 Rookie of the Year, is a combined 12-11 in singles and doubles play this fall, posting a 5-6 record at No. 1 singles, including 3-6 in the NE10, while posting a 7-5 doubles mark with three different playing partners, including 5-4 in the NE10. She and freshman Kacie Banks have teamed up to post a 6-2 doubles record, including 4-1 in the NE10 at No. 2 doubles. Banks is a combined 20-6 overall, including an 11-2 singles record, posting an 8-2 NE10 mark, primarily at No. 4 singles, to go with a 9-4 doubles record, including 7-3 in the NE10.

Freshman Alexa Orlando has been solid at the bottom of the New Haven lineup, posting a combined 16-9 record, including a 9-4 singles record, with a 6-4 NE10 mark, and 7-5 doubles record with two different playing partners, including 5-5 in the NE10. She and classmate Katherine MacPhail have teamed up to post a 5-3 record, including 4-3 at No. 3 doubles, with a 3-3 NE10 mark. MacPhail is a combined 11-9, including a 6-5 singles record (4-4 NE10).

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2019 Northeast-10 Conference
Women's Tennis Tournament

First Round
Wednesday, October 23
#5 Franklin Pierce (9-5, 6-4 NE10) at #4 Le Moyne (11-3, 7-3 NE10), 1 p.m.
#6 New Haven (8-5, 5-5 NE10) at #3 Stonehill (9-3, 9-1 NE10), 1 p.m.

Semifinal
Friday, October 25
New Haven/Stonehill winner at #2 Southern N.H. (11-1, 9-1 NE10), 1 p.m.
Franklin Pierce/Le Moyne winner at #1 Adelphi (9-3, 9-1 NE10), 1 p.m.

Championship
Sunday, October 27
Semifinal winners, hosted by highest remaining seed, 1 p.m.