Freshman Colleen O'Donnell battled to a three set win at No. 6 singles to lift the Skyhawks into Sunday's NE-10 Championship match. |
Skyhawks will host #4 Merrimack for NE-10 Championship Sunday at 1 p.m.
GOFFSTOWN, N.H. (October 24, 2014) – Third-seeded Stonehill College, ranked ninth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Regional rankings, won two of three doubles matches to gain an important edge on its way to a 5-4 triumph over second-seeded Southern New Hampshire University, ranked tenth in the region in semifinal round action of the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference women's tennis tournament at the Allard Center YMCA tonight.
Stonehill (12-2, 10-2 NE-10) will host fourth-seeded and defending champions Merrimack College (11-4, 8-4 NE-10), ranked sixth in the region, for the NE-10 Championship on Sunday at Charles Watt Tennis Courts at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks will be making their NE-10 record ninth appearance in the Conference championship match, seeking their third title in the tournament's current dual match format and fifth overall. Merrimack, which advanced with a 5-4 upset of top-seeded Adelphi University (14-4, 12-0 NE-10) in today's other NE-10 semifinal, will be seeking a second NE-10 title in the last six months after winning their third championship in program history in April. Southern New Hampshire closes out its fall schedule with an 11-2 record overall, including 11-1 in NE-10 play.
Freshman Colleen O'Donnell (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) was the crucial double-winner for Stonehill by providing the clinching point with her triumph over Southern New Hampshire freshman Lindsay Baum (North Salem, New York/North Salem) at No. 6 singles. O'Donnell took the first set 6-2, before Baum rolled in the second 6-0 to force a deciding third set for the match for both her and the teams, however, O'Donnell bounced back to take the third 6-2 to lift Stonehill into the final.
O'Donnell and senior Meryl Lawrence (North Scituate, Rhode Island/Mount Saint Charles Academy) combined for an 8-2 victory at No. 3 doubles as Stonehill won two of three doubles matches to key the win. Junior Analise Kump (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) and freshman Victoria Barbetta (Wesley Chapel, Florida/Saddlebrook Prep) earned the key doubles win for the Skyhawks with their 8-4 victory at No. 2.
Lawrence and Barbetta rounded out the double winners for Stonehill on the night as their singles wins lifted the Skyhawks to a 4-4 deadlock after Southern New Hampshire took the top three flights in succession to claim a 4-2 lead. Barbetta posted a 7-6, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles against SNHU senior Jamie Hann (Westhampton, New York/Westhampton Beach), while Lawrence notched a 6-3, 6-2 win over junior Yolanda Green (Springfield, Massachusetts/Longmeadow) at No. 5 singles.
Senior Diana Vamvakitis (Wading River, New York/Westhampton Beach) and junior Ashley Loft (Leysin, Switzerland) were double winners for Southern New Hampshire. The duo earned the Penmen's lone doubles point by rolling to an 8-0 win at the top flight. Vamvakitis, the eighth-ranked singles player in the East Region, followed that up with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles against Stonehill junior Bailey Paradiso (Birmingham, Michigan/Marian), while Loft added a 6-0, 6-2 win over Kump at No. 2. Post grad Sarah Schollgen (Meerbusch, Germany) picked up a point for SNHU with her 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles against freshman Emma Prinos (Foxboro, Massachusetts/Foxboro).
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