Delaware and William & Mary To Battle For CAA Women's Tennis Championship
Rob Washburn
ELON, N.C. (April 27, 2024) – The top two seeds will battle for the CAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Sunday after #1 Delaware and #2 William & Mary both recorded 4-0 victories in the semifinals on Saturday at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on the campus of Elon University. The Blue Hens beat 4
th-seeded Drexel, while the Tribe downed 6
th-seeded UNCW.
#1 Delaware 4, #4 Drexel 0
Top-seeded Delaware (20-6) advanced to the finals of the CAA Women’s Tennis Championship for the first time in program history with an impressive 4-0 victory over 4
th-seeded Drexel (12-8).
The Blue Hens took an early lead after capturing a tight contested doubles point. Delaware’s No. 2 tandem of Maryia Hrynashka and Julieta Honrubia got a service break at 5-4 to close out a 6-4 victory over Elisa Rigazio and Maddie Ricardo. The Blue Hens secured the point at No. 1 when Eliza Askarova and Alexandra Staiculescu held off Lorie Lemongo and Renata Lombera, 6-4.
Delaware used the doubles momentum to turn in a dominant performance in singles, taking the opening set on all six courts. Staiculescu rolled past Isabel Cabrerizo, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 4 and Hrynashka made it 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Lombera at No. 3. The Blue Hens clinched the match when Honrubia defeated Rebecca Fiedler, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 6.
#2 William & Mary 4, #6 UNCW 0
Two-time defending champion William & Mary (17-5) reached the finals of the CAA Women’s Tennis Championship for the ninth year in a row as the 2
nd-seed Tribe topped 6
th-seeded UNCW (12-8), 4-0.
The Tribe jumped out to a 1-0 advantage by securing the doubles point. William & Mary’s No. 3 team of Francesca Davis and Mila Mejic took a 4-1 lead and went on to a 6-2 victory over Gabriela Glickstein and Anna Parker Shumate. The Tribe’s No. 1 tandem of Yu Chen and Emma Fernald won the first four games over Eda Arli and Elif Albayrak and clinched the point with a 6-2 triumph.
William & Mary raced out to a quick start in singles, grabbing the opening set in five of the six matches, before the Seahawks battled back in the second set of many of them. The Tribe picked up a victory at No. 4 as Alessandra Anghel defeated Katelyn Hubbard, 6-0, 6-3, and Ine Stange followed by holding off a late charge from Alicia Eberwein to win 6-0, 7-5, at No. 5. For the second straight day, W&M’s Hedda Gurholt closed out the match at No. 1, rocketing a forehand down the line to break serve and defeat Arli, 6-2, 7-5.
Delaware and William & Mary will meet at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon for the CAA title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Hens have won six in a row and 11 of their last 12, while the Tribe is on a 13-match winning streak.
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2024 CAA WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinals – April 27, 2024
Jimmy Powell Tennis Center – Elon, N.C.
#1 Delaware 4, #4 Drexel 0
Singles
#1 Slade Coetzee (UD) vs. Lorie Lemongo (DU) – DNF, 6-4, 4-4
#2 Eliza Askarova (UD) vs. Elisa Rigazio (DU) – DNF, 6-3, 5-3
#3 Maryia Hrynashka (UD) d. Renata Lombera (DU), 6-2, 6-3
#4 Alexandra Staiculescu (UD) d. Isabel Cabrerizo (DU), 6-1, 6-0
#5 Navya Vadlamudi (UD) vs. Maddie Ricardo (DU) – DNF, 7-5, 4-1
#6 Julieta Honrubia (UD) d. Rebecca Fiedler (DU), 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6*
Doubles
#1 Askarova/Staiculescu (UD) d. Lemongo/Lombera (DU), 6-4
#2 Hrynashka/Honrubia (UD) d. Rigazio/Ricardo (DU), 6-4
#3 Coetzee/Paulina Jurkowska (UD) vs. Cabrerizo/Fiedler (DU) – DNF, 5-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1*
#2 William & Mary 4, #6 UNCW 0
Singles
#1 Hedda Gurholt (W&M) d. Eda Arli (UNCW), 6-2, 7-5
#2 Yu Chen (W&M) vs. Stela Joksimovic (UNCW) – DNF, 6-1, 4-6, 2-0
#3 Mila Mejic (W&M) vs. Elif Albayrak (UNCW) – DNF, 2-6, 6-2, 2-1
#4 Alessandra Anghel (W&M) d. Katelyn Hubbard (UNCW), 6-0, 6-3
#5 Ine Stange (W&M) d. Alicia Eberwein (UNCW), 6-0, 7-5
#6 Francesca Davis (W&M) vs. Alex Borcich (UNCW) – DNF, 6-4, 3-5
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1*
Doubles
#1 Chen/Emma Fernald (W&M) d. Arli/Albayrak (UNCW), 6-2
#2 Stange/Anghel (W&M) vs. Joksimovic/Eberwein (UNCW) – DNF, 2-4
#3 Davis/Mejic (W&M) d. Gabriela Glickstein/Anna Parker Shumate (UNCW), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1*