Skyhawks post three wins over regionally-ranked opponents, capped by Solorzano Valencia's third-set tiebreaker over Division II's #13-ranked player

Solorzano Valencia was a double-winner, knocking of the No. 13-ranked player in Division II to clinch the Skyhawks win (PHOTO BY Doug Monson/Stonehill Athletics)

FLUSHING, N.Y. (May 10, 2021) – Sophomore Cristina Solorzano Valencia knocked off the No. 13-ranked singles player in Division II in a third set tiebreaker to send fourth-seeded Stonehill College past top-seeded Concordia (N.Y.) College, ranked No. 28 in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II rankings, in first round action of the 2021 NCAA Division II Tournament, hosted by Queens (N.Y.) College, at the QC Tennis Center this evening.

Stonehill (11-3, 8-2 NE10), making its 15^th NCAA Tournament appearance, advances to the "Sweet 16" for the second time in program history and will battle second-seeded and No. 48-ranked Franklin Pierce University (13-0, 9-0 NE10) for the East Region championship here tomorrow at 1 p.m. It will mark the third meeting of the season between the two Northeast-10 Conference entries in the NCAA Tournament and the second over the last week after the Ravens claimed a 4-2 decision in the NE10 Championship match on May 2^nd. Franklin Pierce edged third-seeded and host Queens (4-2, 1-1 ECC), ranked No. 42 nationally, in today's opening match. Concordia sees its season end with at 8-1 overall, including 5-0 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. 

Highlights

• Solorzano Valencia and fellow sophomore Steffi Antao were both double-winners to lead Stonehill to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2018 and first in four NCAA Tournament encounters with Concordia.
• Solorzano Valencia, ranked No. 6 in the most recent Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings, capped a night that saw Stonehill defeat two regionally-ranked singles players and a regionally-ranked doubles tandem in Concordia's lineup, with a victory at No. 1 singles over Concordia sophomore Ebba Rosberg, the two-time CACC Player of the Year and ranked No. 13 in last week's Oracle/ITA Division II singles rankings.
• Solorzano Valencia and Antao helped Stonehill earn the doubles point by defeating the East Region's No. 3 doubles pairing.

• Antao was also a double-winner for the Skyhawks, combining for a win at No. 1 doubles before adding a win at No. 2 singles (PHOTO BY Doug Monson/Stonehill Athletics)

  Junior Samantha Ormesher picked off the East Region's No. 19-ranked player at No. 5 singles.
• Antao added a key win at No. 2 singles for the Skyhawks.

How it Happened

• Solorzano Valencia and Antao rallied from 5-2 down at No. 1 doubles against Concordia seniors Angelia Karlsson Hantzis and Josefina Torres Martin, the region's No. 3-ranked doubles tandem, for a 7-5 triumph.
• Junior Emma Markaryan and sophomore Lily Peter cliched the doubles point with their 7-6 (7-5) decision at No. 3 doubles, with the Skyhawks also holding a lead at No. 2.
• Freshman Margherita Fiorio knotted the score with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles against Peter.
• Antao pushed Stonehill back in front, battling past freshman Tamara Erakovic at No. 2 singles, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
• Sophomore Paula Palero, ranked 12^th in the Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings, knotted the score once again with her 6-4, 7-5 victory over Markaryan at No. 4.
• Karlsson Hantzis, ranked ninth in the region for singles, gave Concordia a brief lead when she completed a 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles against Stonehill senior Isabelle Porter.
• Ormesher answered by finishing off her three-set victory against Torres Martin, ranked No. 19 in the region, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, setting the stage for the dramatic finale unfolding at No. 1 singles.
• Solorzano Valencia had won the first set 6-4 against Rosberg, before the 13^th-ranked player in the country responded with a 6-1 second set decision. The third set would go to a tiebreaker, where Rosberg won the first three points and held leads of 3-1 and 6-2, before Solorzano Valencia fought off four match points, including three against serve, including down 6-2 against the serve, to clinch the match win 9-7 in the tiebreaker.

Ormesher knocked off a regionally-ranked opponent at No. 5 singles to pull the Skyhawks within a point of the match win (PHOTO BY Doug Monson/Stonehill Athletics)

Noteworthy

• Stonehill received its 15^th NCAA Tournament bid, having earned appearances in 12 of the last 13 years.
• Tonight marks Stonehill's first NCAA Tournament win since a 5-3 victory over New York Institute of Technology in a first round match in 2018, also hosted by Queens.
• Stonehill is one of 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in program history and first since reaching the NCAA Championships in 2009. The Skyhawks will be looking for its first Elite Eight appearance with a win tomorrow.
• Solorzano Valencia has now won her last seven singles decisions to improve to 8-1 this spring. She has posted four wins over regionally ranked opponents, including tonight's win over a nationally-ranked player, two wins over NE10 Players of the Year past and present as well as tonight's win over a two-time CACC Player of the Year. Solorzano Valencia has posted a combined singles and doubles record of 45-14 over her two seasons at Stonehill, including a 21-4 singles record and 24-7 doubles mark.
• Ormesher has also won her last seven singles decisions, earning a win over a regionally-ranked player tonight, to improve to 7-1 on the season.
• The winner of Tuesday's NCAA East Regional Championship match with second-seeded and No. 48-ranked Franklin Pierce will advance to the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championships, in Surprise, Arizona, May 19-21.

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