Stony Brook, UNCW, Drexel, North Carolina A&T Win CAA Women's Tennis First-Round Matches

4/20/2023 8:05:07 PM

Rob Washburn

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET PHOTO

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 20, 2023) – Fifth-seeded Stony Brook, #6 UNCW, #7 Drexel and #9 North Carolina A&T recorded first-round victories in the 2023 CAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Thursday at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts on the campus of William & Mary.

In a thrilling four-hour match, 9^th-seeded North Carolina A&T (9-7) outlasted 8^th-seeded Hampton (8-11), 4-3. Hampton took the early lead after capturing a competitive doubles point. The Pirates’ No. 3 duo of Angelina Blinova and Lucia Jorrin Fernandez topped Nour Gueblaoui and Asima Sazan, 6-1, but the Aggies pulled even with a 6-1 victory at No. 2 by Cielo Tapia Cruz and Nuria Sanz over Laura Peralta and Franzene Tsui. The point was decided at No. 1, where Hampton’s Mio Kozaki and Diana Starodubtseva were able to break serve and pull out a 7-5 win over Lana Caculovic and Isabella Romanichen.

A&T got off to a fast start in singles- as Gueblaoui beat Sobenna Eqwuekwe, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 and Romanichen beat Fernandez, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4. Hampton fought back to take a 3-2 advantage as Blinova rallied to top Caculovic, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 and Peralta overcame an early deficit to down Sazan, 0-6, 7-5, 6-4 at No. 6. The Aggies tied the match with a 2-6, 6-0, 6-4 triumph by Cruz over Starodubtseva at No. 2, and pulled out the win when Sanz defeated Kozaki, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 at No. 3.

Fifth-seeded Stony Brook (11-7) posted a 4-0 victory over 12^th-seeded Towson (5-17). The Tigers, whose roster was reduced to five players due to injury, forfeited No. 3 doubles. A 6-3 win by the Seawolves’ Kristine Theys and Mathilde Sreeves over Sarah Pospischill and Sania Suchinsky clinched the doubles point.Laure

A default at No. 6 singles increased the Stony Brook advantage to 2-0. The Seawolves closed out the match as Sreeves downed Erin Gray, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5 and Theyes beat Olivia Rothfeld, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2.

Seventh-seeded Drexel (10-11) defeated #10 Monmouth (6-16), 4-1. The Dragons turned in a strong performance to earn the doubles point. Drexel’s top tandem of Lorie Lemongo and Renata Lombera topped Zoe Klapman and Hana McKinney, 6-2. Soon after, the Dragons duo of Cris Corte Gonzalez and Mya Fuentes bested Lenien Jamir and Madison Mills, 6-1, at No. 3.

Lemongo got Drexel rolling in singles by beating Ann Spurka, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1, but Monmouth got on the board as Klapman downed Katerina Cummings, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6. The Dragons regained the momentum as Isabel Cabrerizo beat Lauren Landstrom, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3, and closed out the match at No. 5 as Aida Garcia Mendez picked up a victory while leading 6-1, 4-4 at No. 5 after Jordan Pax was forced to retire due to illness.

Sixth-seeded UNCW (11-8) registered a 4-0 victory over #11 Hofstra (2-15). UNCW was dominant in doubles to grab a quick 1-0 advantage. The Seahawks’ top team of Lauren Gish and Eda Arli blanked Deniz Soyer and April Sanchez, 6-0, and UNCW’s No. 2 squad of Zoe Huffman and Anna Daniels followed with a 6-0 triumph over Mary Madigan and Ananyaa Bhargava.

The Seahawks were able to close things out with three straight-set victories in singles. Arli was a 6-3, 6-0 victor over Soyer at No. 2, Gish earned a 6-3, 6-0 win over Sanchez at No. 4 and Stela Joksimovic provided the clinching point at No. 5 by getting past Kaitlyn Ferguson, 7-5, 6-4.

Action resumes on Friday with four quarterfinal matches. Top-seeded William & Mary meets #9 North Carolina A&T at 9 a.m.. #4 Elon takes on #5 Stony Brook at Noon, #2 Delaware faces #7 Drexel at 3 p.m. and #3 Charleston battles #6 UNCW at 6 p.m.

#9 North Carolina A&T 4, #8 Hampton 3

Singles
#1 Angelina Blinova (HU) d. Lana Caculovic (A&T), 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
#2 Cielo Tapia Cruz (A&T) d. Diana Starodubtseva (HU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
#3 Nuria Sanz (A&T) d. Mio Kozaki (HU), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
#4 Isabella Romanichen (A&T) d, Lucia Jorrin Fernandez (HU), 6-0, 6-2
#5 Nour Gueblaoui (A&T) d. Sobenna Eqwuekwe (HU), 6-1, 6-2
#6 Laura Peralta (HU) d. Asima Sazan (A&T), 0-6. 7-5. 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1, 6, 2, 3*

Doubles
#1 Kozaki/Starodubtseva (HU) d. Caculovic/Romanichen (A&T), 7-5
#2 Cruz/Sanz (A&T) d. Peralta/Franzene Tsui (HU), 6-1
#3 Blinova/Fernandez (HU) d. Gueblaoui/Sazan (A&T), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*

#5 Stony Brook 4, #12 Towson 0

Singles
#1 Loreto Rubio (SBU) vs. Sarah Pospischill (TU) – DNF, 6-1, 3-2
#2 Kristine Theys (SBU) d. Olivia Rothfeld (TU), 6-2, 6-1
#3 Chandrika Joshi (SBU) vs. Lea Kosanovic (TU) – DNF, 6-2, 4-0
#4 Kristi Boro (SBU) vs. Sania Suchinsky (TU) – DNF, 6-4, 4-2
#5 Mathilde Sreeves (SBU) d. Erin Gray (TU), 6-1, 6-1
#6 Debby Mastrodima (SBU) won by default
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2*

Doubles
#1 Rubio/Boro (SBU) vs. Kosanovic/Rothfeld (TU) – DNF, 5-1
#2 Theys/Sreeves (SBU) d. Pospischill/Suchinsky (TU), 6-3
#3 Joshi/Mastrodima (SBU) won by default
Order of Finish: 3, 1*

#7 Drexel 4, #10 Monmouth 1

Singles
#1 Lorie Lemongo (DU) d. Ann Spurka (MU), 6-1, 6-0
#2 Renata Lombera (DU) vs. Hana McKinney (MU) – DNF, 6-4, 2-3
#3 Isabel Cabrerizo (DU) d. Lauren Landstrom (MU), 6-2, 6-3
#4 Cristina Corte Gonzalez (DU) vs. Lana Brezanin (MU) – DNF, 6-3, 3-1
#5 Aida Garcia Mendez (DU d. Jordyn Pax (MU), 6-1, 4-4 ret.
#6 Zoe Klapman (MU) d. Katerina Cummings (DU), 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 5*

Doubles
#1 Lemongo/Lombera (DU) d. McKinney/Klapman (MU), 6-2
#2 Cabrerizo/Garcia Mendez (DU) vs. Brezanin/Pax (MU) – DNF, 5-2
#3 Mya Fuentes/Corte Gonzalez (DU) d. Lenien Jamir/Madison Mills (MU), 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 3*

#6 UNCW 4, #11 Hofstra 0

Singles
#1 Zoe Huffman (UNCW) vs. Jimena Garbino (HU) – DNF, 6-3, 5-0
#2 Eda Arli (UNCW) d. Deniz Soyer (HU), 6-3, 6-0
#3 Anna Daniels (UNCW) vs. Sabira Mohammed (HU) – DNF, 7-5, 3-4
#4 Lauren Gish (UNCW) d. April Sanchez (HU), 6-3, 6-0
#5 Stela Joksimovic (UNCW) d. Kaitlyn Ferguson (HU), 7-5, 6-4
#6 Gabbie Glickstein (UNCW) vs. Ananyaa Bhargava (HU) – DNF, 6-2, 2-3
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5*

Doubles
#1 Gish/Arli (UNCW) d. Soyer/Sanchez (HU), 6-0
#2 Huffman/Daniels (UNCW) d. Mary Madigan/Bhargava (HU), 6-0
#3 Joksimovic/Meredith Taylor vs. Garbino/Mohammed (HU) – DNF, 5-1
Order of Finish: 1, 2*