Women's Tennis Meets Goldey-Beacom with “Sweet 16” on the Line


Porter is ranked 12th in the Oracle/ITA East singles rankings and leads the Skyhawks at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix)

Second-seeded Skyhawks seek second trip to NCAA Championships in program history

EASTON, Mass. (May 13, 2019) – Second-seeded Stonehill College will battle third-seeded Goldey-Beacom College for a spot in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championships in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in second round action of the NCAA Tournament at The Weymouth Club on Tuesday at noon.

Admission for the match is free of charge and live results are available at stonehillskyhawks.com. The winner of tomorrow's NCAA East Regional #2 second round matchup will advance to the NCAA Division II Championships, in Altamonte Springs, Florida, hosted by Rollins College and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, May 22-25, for the Round of 16. Stonehill (14-5, 11-0 NE10) received a first round bye, while Goldey-Beacom (15-4, 7-1 CACC) advanced with a 4-0 triumph over sixth-seeded Concordia (N.Y.) College (15-8, 7-1 CACC) in today's opening round at The Weymouth Club.

Sophomores Lotte Lesscher y Post and Catarina Zheng were both double-winners to lead Goldey-Beacom to the win today over Concordia. The 13th-ranked doubles pairing in the Oracle/ITA Division II national rankings, clinched the doubles point for the Lightening with their 7-6 (9-7) triumph at No. 1 doubles over Concordia's top doubles team in a matchup of nationally-ranked tandems. Zheng, ranked 15th in the Oracle/ITA East Region rankings followed by posting Goldey-Beacom's first singles point with her 6-2, 6-0 victory at No. 2 against Concordia senior Kristel Kalm. Post, ranked 8th in the Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings, closed out the match with her 6-1, 6-3 decision at No. 1 singles over sophomore Angelica Karlsson Hantzis, ranked ninth in the region.

Stonehill, the Northeast-10 Conference regular season and tournament champions, will be attempting to reach the "Sweet 16" for the first time since 2009, when it posted a 5-4 win over Queens (N.Y.) College in Easton, Massachusetts, in the second round. The Skyhawks are in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-straight year and tenth time over the last 11 years with its 13th NCAA bid in program history. overall. Stonehill, which was ranked as high as a program-best 38th in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II national rankings this spring, will feature six All-NE10 performers in its lineup on Tuesday, including three first team performers and one regionally-ranked singles player.


Ormesher earned NE10 Tournament MVP honors as a freshman in the fall (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix)

Sophomore Isabelle Porter, ranked 12th in the Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings, is a three-time All-NE10 performer for Stonehill with second team honors at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles with classmate Bethany Hammond, who also earned All-NE10 third team honors at No. 4 singles in the fall. Porter is a combined 26-14 in singles and doubles play, posting identical 13-7 records in singles and doubles. She went 8-2 in the NE10 last fall in singles play and is 9-6 at No. 1 singles this season, posting a 9-4 doubles record with Hammond, including 7-1 in the NE10. Porter has posted a combined career record of 50-25, including 27-7 in the NE10.

Hammond is a combined 17-11 this season, including 12-2 in the NE10. She has posted an 8-6 singles mark, including 5-1 in the NE10. She is a three-time All-NE10 performer over her two seasons at Stonehill, having posted a 31-16 combined career record in singles and doubles play, including 21-2 in NE10 matches.

Freshmen Samantha Ormesher and Emma Markaryan both earned All-NE10 first team honors in singles, while Ormesher was also a second team performer at No. 2 doubles. Ormesher is a combined 24-13 in singles and doubles play in her first collegiate season, posting a 12-6 singles record, including 9-2 in the NE10, while posting a 12-7 doubles record with four different playing partners, including 9-2 in the NE10. Markaryan is a combined 16-6, with a 14-4 singles record, including 10-0 in the NE10, to go with a 2-2 doubles record.

Junior Caroline Ray, a first team All-NE10 performer at No. 3 doubles, is a combined 19-9 in singles and doubles play this season, posting a 5-4 singles mark, including 4-0 in the NE10, with a 14-5 doubles record with four different partners, including 10-0 in the NE10. She is a combined 38-15 in singles and doubles play over her career, including 24-0 in the NE10. Classmate Annelise Howick is a combined 12-12 in singles and doubles play this year, posting a 5-3 singles record, including 2-0 in NE10 matches, with a 7-9 doubles record with two different partners.


Markaryan earned first team All-NE10 honors in the fall (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix)

Junior Alexandra Vo, ranked 14th in the Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings, is a five-time All-NE10 performer after earning second team honors at both No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles with Ormesher. She is a combined 29-15 in singles and doubles play this season, posting a 17-4 singles record, including 9-0 in the NE10, with a 12-11 doubles mark with two different playing partners, including 7-4 in the NE10. Vo is a combined 89-42 over her career, including 58-9 in the NE10, winning all 32 of her NE10 singles matches.

Goldey-Beacom, which claimed a share of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) regular season championship, is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, having posted its third NCAA win in program history on Monday. The Lightening are led by a pair of regionally-ranked singles players at the top of its singles lineup, who combine to form the 13th-ranked doubles team in Division II in Post and Zheng. Post, the CACC Player of the Year who is ranked eighth in the Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings, is a combined 35-9 in singles and doubles play, posting a 15-5 mark in singles, to go with a 20-4 doubles mark with Zheng. Zheng, ranked 15th in the Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings, is a combined 37-8 this season, including 17-4 in singles play.

Junior Anna Hortelano Pey and freshman Andrea Fresneda have also posted double-figure win totals in the Goldey-Beacom lineup. Pey is a combined 20-6 this season, including 12-5 in singles play, with a 6-3 mark at No. 5. Fresneda has contributed a 15-4 singles mark, including 11-3 at No. 6, for the Lightening.

Tomorrow marks the third NCAA Tournament encounter between the two programs. Stonehill won the two previous NCAA matches, posting a 5-0 win in the 2010 NCAA regional and then rallying for a 5-3 triumph in the first round of the 2011 regional. Goldey-Beacom swept the three doubles matches in 2011, before the Skyhawks rallied with five-straight singles wins to clinch the match. Kaitlyn Martin, '14 rallied from a set down to clinch the deciding point for Stonehill with her win at No. 5 singles.

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2019 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis East Regional #2
Hosted by Stonehill College, Easton, Mass.
matches played at The Weymouth Club, Weymouth, Mass.

Monday, May 13
#3 Goldey-Beacom 4, #6 Concordia (N.Y.) 0

Tuesday, May 14
#3 Goldey-Beacom (15-4, 7-1 CACC) at #2 Stonehill (14-5, 11-0 NE10), Noon

Friday Tennis Matches Postponed
September 28, 2018 Friday Tennis Matches Postponed