Women's Tennis Captures ECC Championship
10/24/2008
Women's Tennis Captures ECC Championship
Bronxville, NY - The Concordia College women's tennis team captured the East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Championship with a 5-2 victory over the Knights of Queens College yesterday at the Meyers Tennis Center in Bronxville, NY. The win snaps the Knights streak of 5 consecutive East Coast Conference Tournament Championships and gives the Clippers an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championships.
The Clippers opened doubles play with seniors Somadi Druker (Capetown, South Africa) and Celise Sesanker (Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago) defeating Alyssa Morra and Maria Mendes 8-5 at No. 1 singles.
The Knights tied the score at 1-1 when Jessica Franklin and Maria Perevezentseva topped sophomore Adeline Brennan (Toms River, NJ) and junior Tita Kiss (Stamford, CT) at No. 3 doubles by a score of 8-6.
Concordia would take the lead once again when junior Cristina Oliveira (Porte Allegre, Brazil) and freshman Maria Ortiz (Bogota, Columbia) beat Taylor Barber and Laura Mocodeanu 8-6 at No. 2 doubles.
In singles competition, Oliveira, who was voted the ECC Women's Tennis Player of the Year, soundly defeated Mendes 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to put Concordia ahead 3-1. Sesanker finished next for the Clippers at No. 3 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Barber.
The Knights would answer with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles by Morra over Kiss to cut the Queens deficit to 4-2.
With the Clippers needing just one more victory to capture the championship, Brennan outlasted Perevezentseva 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6 singles to propel Concordia to the ECC title.
Druker was victorious in her first set and was tied 1-1 in the second set against Mocodeanu at No. 2 singles when the match concluded. Ortiz, who was named the ECC Women's Tennis Rookie of the Year, also won her first set 7-5 over Franklin and was ahead 1-0 in the second set when the match ended.
The Clippers finish the season with a perfect 11-0 record and claim their second East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Tournament Championship. The previous title for the Clippers came back in the 1998 season. Concordia advances to the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championships beginning May 7, 2009.
