Porter clinched the match win with her three set triumph at No. 3 singles (PHOTO BY Doug Monson/Stonehill Athletics) |
Skyhawks turn around match with four-straight singles wins
NE10 Women's Tennis Quarterfinals Recap
NE10 Women's Tennis Tournament Central
EASTON, Mass. (April 28, 2021) – Third-seeded Stonehill College, ranked No. 5 in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings and No. 8 in the most recent Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region rankings, turned around a deficit after doubles play with four-straight singles victories to claim a 4-1 triumph over sixth-seeded University of New Haven, ranked No. 9 in the Oracle/ITA East Region rankings, in quarterfinal round action of the 2021 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Tennis Tournament at Charles Watt Tennis Courts this afternoon.
Stonehill (9-2, 8-3 NE10) advances to Friday's semifinal round of the NE10 Tournament and will visit No. 2-seeded Adelphi University, ranked No. 4 in the NCAA East Region rankings and Oracle/ITA East Region rankings, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, at 2:30 p.m. The winner will not only advance to the NE10 Championship match on Sunday but could also seal at least an at large bid for the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament. Adelphi (10-1, 9-1 NE10) advanced with a 4-1 win over seventh-seeded Assumption University in a quarterfinal match today. New Haven sees its season come to a close with a 5-8 record overall, including 4-6 in the NE10.
Highlights
- Stonehill won all four singles decisions to reverse a 1-0 deficit after doubles play to clinch the quarterfinal round victory and advance to the NE10 semifinals for a Conference record 18th time in a record 21 NE10 Tournament appearances.
- Senior Isabelle Porter, juniors Samantha Ormesher and Emma Markaryan, as well as sophomore Steffi Antao all captured singles wins for Stonehill.
- New Haven's doubles pairings of junior Nicole Mika and sophomore Kacie Banks, along with senior Lilia Rodriguez and sophomore Alexa Orlando combined to clinch the doubles point for New Haven for an early advantage in the match.
Ormesher sparked the rally with her quick point at No. 5 singles (PHOTO BY Doug Monson/Stonehill Athletics) |
How it Happened
- Mika and Banks posted the first doubles win for New Haven with a 6-2 victory at No. 2 doubles over Porter and Ormesher. Rodriguez and Orlando held off a comeback effort from Markaryan and sophomore Lily Peter at No. 3 doubles for a 7-5 decision that clinched the doubles point for the Chargers.
- Having dropped a match point for the first time in exactly a month, when Stonehill last tasted defeat at the hands of Adelphi (4-1) on March 28, Stonehill quickly jumped ahead in all six singles matches and commenced to flip the early New Haven point.
- Ormesher, a five-time All-NE10 performer, knotted the match with a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles against Rodriguez.
- Markaryan, a four-time All-NE10 performer, pushed Stonehill in front with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles against Banks.
- Antao pulled Stonehill to the cusp of the NE10 semifinal round with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at No. 2 singles against New Haven senior Stephanie Gonzalez.
- Porter then finished the match off with a three-set win over Mika at No. 3 singles, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.
Noteworthy
- Stonehill is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II East Regional rankings released by the NCAA Championships selection committee today. Four teams from each of the eight NCAA Division II regions will earn NCAA Tournament bids.
- Stonehill seeks its eighth NE10 Tournament Championship this week, having won the title each of the last two seasons.
- Markaryan won her sixth-straight singles decision, improving to 8-1 this season and 35-9 in singles play over her career. She has posted a combined 48-14 record in singles and doubles play over her career.
- Ormesher also won her sixth-straight singles match to improve to 6-1 this spring. She has now posted a combined record of 52-29 in singles and doubles play over her career, including a 26-13 singles mark.
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