Charleston, W&M, JMU And Elon Advance To Women's Tennis Semifinals
Rob Washburn
Burlington, N.C. (April 20, 2018) – Sixth-seeded Charleston rallied to upset #3 Delaware, 4-1, in the quarterfinals of the CAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center.
Joining the Cougars in the tournament’s semifinals are top-seeded William & Mary, #2 James Madison and #4 Elon, who were all 4-0 winners.
Charleston (17-10) used a dominant performance in singles to advance to the semifinals for the fourth time in five years. Delaware (12-6) gained the early advantage following a thrilling doubles competition. The Blue Hens’ top team of Brooke Pilkington and Sara Komer got past Christi Woodson and Anastasia Palaska, 6-4, but the Cougars’ No. 2 duo of Rachel McNeely and Helena Nyikos edged Amanda Studnicki and Sarah Hall, 7-5. The point was decided at No. 3 doubles in a back-and-forth tiebreaker which was won 7-6 (9-7) by Delaware’s Draga Sabotic and Sarah Whited over Turner Yates and Laura Arciniegas. However, Charleston was able to regroup and sweep the singles competition. Nykios beat Pilkington, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1, Palaska downed Annie Jaskulski, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4 and Woodson topped Komer, 6-2, 7-5 at No. 2 before Arciniegas ended the match with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Whited at No. 6.
William & Mary (15-9) opened its quest for a fourth straight CAA title by defeating #8 Towson. The Tigers got off to a strong start in doubles as their top tandem of Lucy Williams and Yevgenuya Shusterman blanked Lauren Goodman and Natalia Perry, 6-0. However the Tribe was able to claim the point following a 6-3 win at No. 2 by Rosie Cheng and Olivia Thaler over Renate van Oorschodt and AJ Gomer, and a 7-5 triumph at No. 3 by Charlotte Madson and Clara Tanielian over Barbora Vasilkova and Lucy Gloninger at No. 3. W&M hit its stride in singles as Thaler topped Gloninger, 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6, Cheng defeated Nicole Shaknazarova, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 and Perry rolled past Gomer, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2.
James Madison ran its program-best record to 20-3 and reached the semifinals for the sixth year in a row following a hard-fought victory against #6 UNCW (1-12). In doubles, the Dukes’ No. 2 duo of Anna Makarova and Emma Petersen defeated Sarah Horn and Celeste Matute, 6-4, and the No. 1 team of Liz Norman and Abby Amos rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat Sabrina Barisano and Maddy Muller-Hughes, 6-4. JMU continued its success in singles as Jona Roka was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Muller-Hughes at No. 3, Makarova got by Matute, 7-5, 6-2 at No. 2, and Diane Flament pulled out a 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over Rashika Ravindran at No. 5.
Elon (14-12) advanced to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season after its win over #5 Drexel (15-5). The Phoenix claimed the doubles point as the No. 2 tandem of Olivia Lucas and Erica Braschi beat Clary Rodriguez and Salma Ziouti, 6-2, and the No. 1 pairing of Maria Paraja and Alex Koniaev edged Kendra Bunch Ghita Benhadi, 7-5. Elon followed with three convincing victories in singles. Koniaev picked up a 6-0, 6-3 win over Anisiya Simpson at No. 5, Lucas downed Bunch, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 and Kirsten Ward closed out the match with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Rodriguez at No. 6.
In Saturday’s semifinals at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, #1 William & Mary faces #4 Elon and #2 James Madison meets #6 Charleston. Both matches get underway at 2 p.m.
2018 CAA WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP – Quarterfinals
Burlington Tennis Center – Burlington, N.C.
#1 William & Mary 4, #8 Towson 0
Singles
#1 Rosie Cheng (W&M) d. Nicole Shaknazarova (Towson), 6-2, 6-1
#2 Natalia Perry (W&M) d. AJ Gomer (Towson), 6-0, 6-1
#3 Clara Tanielian (W&M) vs. Lucy Williams (Towson) DNF - 1-6, 4-3
#4 Lauren Goodman (W&M) vs. Yevgeniya Shusterman (Towson) DNF – 6-2, 3-1
#5 Ekaterina Stepanova (W&M) vs. Renate van Oorschodt (Towson) DNF – 6-1, 5-2
#6 Olivia Thaler (W&M) d. Lucy Gloninger (Towson), 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1*
Doubles
#1 Williams/Shusterman (Towson) d. Goodman/Perry (W&M), 6-0
#2 Cheng/Thaler (W&M) d. van Oorschodt/Gomer (Towson), 6-3
#3 Charlotte Madson/Tanielian (W&M) d. Barbora Vasilkova/Gloninger (Towson), 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
#4 Elon 4, #5 Drexel 0
Singles
#1 Olivia Lucas (Elon) d. Kendra Bunch (Drexel), 6-2, 6-2
#2 Erica Braschi (Elon) vs. Salma Ziouti (Drexel) DNF – 6-2, 2-3
#3 Suzanne Zenoni (Elon) vs. Ghita Benhadi (Drexel) DNF – 6-1, 6-5
#4 Maria Paraja (Elon) vs. Mya Fuentes (Drexel) DNF – 7-6 (6), 1-1
#5 Alex Koniaev (Elon) d. Anisiya Simpson (Drexel), 6-0, 6-3
#6 Kirsten Ward (Elon) d. Clary Rodriguez (Drexel), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 6*
Doubles
#1 Paraja/Koniaev (Elon) d. Bunch/Benhadi (Drexel), 7-5
#2 Lucas/Braschi (Elon) d. Ziouti/Rodriguez (Drexel), 6-2
#3 Zenoni/Ward (Elon) vs. Fuentes/Ryshena Providence (Drexel) – DNF, 6-6
Order of Finish: 2, 1*
#2 James Madison 4, #7 UNCW 0
Singles
#1 Liz Norman (JMU) vs. Xandra Fougner (UNCW) DNF – 5-7, 5-4
#2 Anna Makarova (JMU) d. Celeste Matute (UNCW), 7-5, 6-2
#3 Jona Roka (JMU) d. Maddy Muller-Hughes (UNCW), 6-3, 6-3
#4 Emma Petersen (JMU) vs. Sabrina Barisano (UNCW) DNF – 4-6, 6-2, 5-0
#5 Diane Flament (JMU) d. Rishika Ravindran (UNCW), 6-3, 7-6 (2)
#6 Kimmy Herrock (JMU) vs. Rachel Marthinsen (UNCW) DNF – 3-6, 6-3, 4-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 5*
Doubles
#1 Norman/Abby Amos (JMU) d. Barisano/Miller-Hughes (UNCW), 6-4
#2 Makarova/Petersen (JMU) d. Sarah Horn/Matute (UNCW), 6-4
#3 Roka/Dylan Owens (JMU) vs. Fougner/Ravindran (UNCW) DNF, 5-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1*
#6 Charleston 4, #3 Delaware 1
Singles
#1 Helena Nyikos (Charleston) d. Brooke Pilkington (Delaware), 6-2, 6-2
#2 Christi Woodson (Charleston) d. Sara Komer (Delaware), 6-2, 7-5
#3 Rachel McNeely (Charleston) vs. Amanda Studnicki (Delaware) DNF – 6-3, 5-6
#4 Anastasia Palaska (Charleston) d. Annie Jaskulski (Delaware), 6-1, 6-3
#5 Turner Yates (Charleston) vs. Sarah Hall (Delaware) DNF – 2-6, 3-5
#6 Laura Arciniegas (Charleston) d. Sarah Whited (Delaware), 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2, 6*
Doubles
#1 Pilkington/Komer (Delaware) d. Woodson/Palaska (Charleston), 6-4
#2 Nyikos/McNeely (Charleston) d. Studnicki/Hall (Delaware), 7-5
#3 Draga Sabotic/Whited (Delaware) d. Yates/Arciniegas (Charleston), 7-6 (7)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*