2023 CAA Women's Tennis Championship Gets Underway On Thursday
Rob Washburn
2023 CAA WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
RICHMOND, Va. (April 19, 2023) – The largest field in the 38-year history of the CAA Women’s Tennis Championship will battle for the conference title starting Thursday at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts on the campus of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. The four-day event (April 20-23) features 12 teams as league newcomers Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T and Stony Brook make their inaugural appearance.
The tournament begins with four first-round matches on Thursday. At 9 a.m., #8 Hampton faces #9 North Carolina A&T, followed at Noon by #5 Stony Brook against #12 Towson. The 3 p.m. match features #7 Drexel against #10 Monmouth and #6 UNCW versus #11 Hofstra caps the day’s action at 6 p.m.
The top four seeds take the court on Friday for quarterfinal play. Top seed and defending champion William & Mary meets the Hampton/North Carolina A&T winner at 9 a.m., followed by #4 Elon against the Stony Brook/Towson winner at Noon. Second-seeded Delaware goes against the Drexel/Monmouth winner at 3 p.m. and #3 Charleston plays the UNCW/Hofstra winner at 6 p.m.
The two semifinal matches are scheduled for Noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday and the championship match is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, with the winner earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship.
William & Mary (12-5) claimed its 27
th CAA women’s tennis title in 2022 and returns four players to the starting lineup. Sophomore Hedda Gurholt leads the Tribe with a 13-3 record at the No. 1 singles spot. Ine Stange, who was chosen as the Most Outstanding Performer at last year’s tournament, has an 8-2 singles mark and has been ranked nationally in doubles for much of the year with partner Sofiya Kuzina.
Delaware (21-3), which earned its highest seed in tournament history, advanced to the semifinals for just the second time ever last season. Riding a nine-match winning streak, the Blue Hens feature an experienced lineup. Grad transfer Adel-Byanu Abidullina has a 16-3 record at No. 1 singles, while Alina Vasilenko is 17-5 in singles. Abidullina and Eliza Askarova are ranked No.31 nationally in doubles.
Charleston (16-5) has won 10 of its last 11 matches entering the tournament. The Cougars have advanced to the semifinals in seven of their eight CAA Tournament appearances and reached the championship match in 2014 and 2015. Back at the top of the Charleston lineup are seniors Slade Coetzee, who is 16-4 at No. 1 singles, and Halli Trinkle, who is 12-5 at the No. 2 slot.
Elon (15-6) advanced to the CAA championship match for the first time last season and returns four starters from that squad. Senior Sibel Tanik is 12-7 at the No. 1 slot and junior Lizette Reding has a 10-7 mark. Senior Olivia Archer, the program’s all-time singles wins leader, has won her last 13 matches.
Stony Brook (10-7) has won its last three matches heading into its first CAA Tournament. Grad student Loreto Rubio plays at the top of the Seawolves’ lineup and senior Kristine Theys competes at No. 2.
UNCW (10-8), which went 4-2 in its last six matches, won a CAA title in 2014 and reached the finals in 2013 and 2017. The Seahawks are led by senior Zoe Huffman, who is 10-7 at No. 1 singles, while grad student Lauren Gish is 12-4 at No. 4.
Drexel (9-11) closed the regular season by winning three of its last four. The Dragons feature sophomore Lorie Lemongo at the top spot, who went 13-6 this season and earned 2
nd-team All-CAA honors in 2022.
Hampton (8-10) rides the momentum of a three-match winning streak into tournament play. Freshman Angelina Blinova is the Pirates’ top singles player and sports a 9-7 record.
North Carolina A&T (8-7) went 5-3 over its final eight regular-season matches. At the top of the lineup for the Aggies is freshman Lana Caculovic, who has an impressive 10-3 record this season.
Monmouth (6-15) captured its final two matches to cap the regular season. The Hawks have senior Ann Spurka at the No. 1 singles spot.
Hofstra (2-14) will try to reverse its fortunes against UNCW after a 5-2 regular-season setback. Playing at the top singles position for the Pride is senior Jimena Garbino.
Towson (5-16) has struggled with injuries during the second half of the season. The Tigers have a veteran at the No. 1 spot in senior Sarah Pospischill, who has recorded four victories this season.
There is free admission to all matches at the 2023 CAA Women’s Tennis Championship.
To stay up to date with what is happening be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (@CAASports), Instagram (@caasports) and join the conversation using the hashtag #CAAChamps. For live results, recaps, highlights and more, visit
CAASports.com/WTENNIS.