Title tilt set for Saturday at Southern New Hampshire

Sarah Hickey won the decisive match at No. 6 singles.

EASTON, Mass. (April 20, 2011) – Second-seeded Stonehill College, currently ranked fourth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Regional poll, staged an early upset at No. 1 doubles and turned in a pair of clutch singles performances to close out a 5-4 victory over third-seeded and sixth-ranked Adelphi University in Wednesday’s semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Tennis Championship.

Stonehill (18-2, 12-1 NE-10) will play for the conference title Saturday at top-seeded and third-ranked Southern New Hampshire University (16-2, 13-0 NE-10). Saturday's match time is to be announced.

The Skyhawks took a 2-1 lead in dramatic fashion through the opening doubles matches. Lindsey Herchel (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) and Jacquelyn Harrow (North Reading, Mass./North Reading), ranked 10th in the East Region in doubles competition, toppled seventh-ranked Maria Toft and Alda Ribeiro at the No. 1 spot to lead off the afternoon. After battling back from an early two-game deficit, Herchel and Harrow traded games with the Panthers until they pulled away to a 7-5 lead, and with Herchel serving with the advantage in the final game, Toft played a high lob back into the net to end it.

Amy Toegemann (Narragansett, R.I./The Lincoln School) and Chelsea Haedrich (Islip, N.Y./Islip) also rallied for a crucial win at No. 3 doubles after trailing by a game throughout the match. The duo survived a 7-6 deficit to win three straight games for a 9-7 victory over Carolyn Smith and Megan Margino. Adelphi claimed their doubles victory at No. 2, as Michelle Gurda and Samra Redzematovic defeated Leah White (Walpole, Mass./Bishop Feehan) and Kaitlyn Martin (Medway, Mass./Medway) by an 8-6 margin.

White picked up the Skyhawks’ top singles win at No. 3, rolling past Smith 6-0, 6-1 to give Stonehill a 3-1 overall lead. Toft and Ribeiro took the Nos. 1 and 2 matchups to pull Adelphi even at 3-3, and Gaby Adia outlasted Paige Frost (Brigantine, N.J./Holy Spirit) in a second-set tiebreak at No. 4 to edge the Panthers ahead 4-3 with two matches left on the court.

Martin overcame an early deficit to win her first set against Gurda at No. 5 singles, and put her away with a 6-3 second set to tie up the match for Sarah Hickey (Lee, Mass./Lee) at No. 6. Hickey delivered for the Skyhawks with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Redzematovic to notch her 48th consecutive career victory and send Stonehill ahead to Saturday’s championship tilt with Southern New Hampshire.