Drexel, UNCW Pull Upsets To Join W&M And Elon In CAA Women's Tennis Semis

4/21/2023 10:01:45 PM

Rob Washburn

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL TOURNAMENT BRACKET PHOTOS

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 21, 2023) – Drexel became the first No. 7 seed to ever reach the semifinals of the CAA Women’s Tennis Championship after upsetting No. 2 Delaware, 4-2, while UNCW knocked off No. 3 Charleston, 4-3, to become just the second No. 6 seed to make the semifinals on an exciting Friday at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts on the campus of William & Mary.

The Dragons and Seahawks will be joined in the semifinals by No. 1 William & Mary and No. 4 Elon. It’s the first time in 21 tournament appearances that Drexel has advanced to the final four of the event, while UNCW is back in the semifinals for the first time since 2017, when it was also the No. 6 seed.

With the threat of inclement weather, times have been moved up for Saturday’s semifinals. William & Mary and Elon will meet at 9 a.m., followed by Drexel and UNCW at Noon.

Delaware (21-4) took an early 1-0 advantage on Drexel after claiming the doubles point. The Blue Hens’ No. 2 duo of Alina Vasilenko and Isabella Montana beat Isabel Cabrerizo and Aida Garcia Mendez, 6-2, and Delaware’s No. 3 team of Julieta Honrubia and Maryia Hrynashka topped Mya Fuentes and Cristina Corte Gonzalez, 6-2.

Drexel (11-11) quickly changed the momentum in singles. Mendez defeated Montana, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6 and Renata Lombera beat Alina Vasilenko, 6-4, 6-2, to put the Dragons ahead 2-1. Delaware tied it up when Toni Nelson topped Fuentes, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 4, but Drexel regained the lead with a 6-4, 6-3 win by Cabrerizo over Hrynashka at No. 3. The match was decided on the No. 1 court when the Dragons’ Lorie Lemongo, who dropped the opening set 6-1 to Adel-Bya Abidullina, battled back to take the final two sets 6-3, 6-4, to complete the upset for Drexel.

UNCW (12-8) moved on top early by claiming the doubles point. The Seahawks’ top team of Lauren Gish and Eda Arli posted a 6-2 victory over Slade Coetzee and Halli Trinkle. Seconds later, UNCW’s No. 2 duo of Zoe Huffman and Anna Daniels got past Ella Faessler and Nicole Stephens, 6-4.

Charleston (16-6) bounced back at the start of singles. The Cougars’ Maja Jekauc defeated Daniels, 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 and Stephens downed Stela Joksimovic, 6-2, 6-4, to go up 2-1. UNCW pulled even at No. 6 when Gabbie Glickstein topped Peyton Brotzman, 6-3, 6-4. The two teams split a pair of three-setters as Charleston’s Faessler outlasted Gish, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, at No. 4, but UNCW answered with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph by Arli over Trinkle at No. 2. The match came down to No. 1, where Huffman pulled out a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-0 win over Coetzee.

Top-seeded William & Mary (13-5) advanced to the semifinals for the 10^th consecutive year with a 4-0 victory over No. 9 North Carolina A&T (9-8). The Tribe turned in a dominant performance in doubles to take a 1-0 advantage. W&M’s No. 2 tandem of Elisa Van Meeteren and Emma Fernald blanked Cielo Tapia Cruz and Nuria Sanz, 6-0, and the No. 3 duo of Hedda Gurholt and Emma Pell also posted a 6-0 victory over Nour Gueblaoui and Asima Sazan.

The Tribe continued the momentum with three straight-set wins in singles. Fernald topped Isabella Romanichen, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 4, Pell downed Sazan, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6 and Kuzina closed out the match by beating Sanz, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3.

Fourth-seeded Elon (16-6) reached the semifinals for the eighth year in a row after battling past #5 Stony Brook (11-8), 4-0. The Phoenix got off to a quick start by capturing the doubles point. Elon’s No. 3 duo of Olivia Archer and Miray Konar downed Chandrika Joshi and Debby Mastrodima, 6-3, before the Phoenix’s top team of Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding topped Loreto Rubio and Kristi Boro, 6-2.

In singles, Elon’s Archer won her 14^th consecutive match, defeating Mathilde Sreeves, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5. The Phoenix followed with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory by Julie Ball over Boro before Elon’s Lizette Reding clinched the win by beating Kristine Theys, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2.

#1 William & Mary 4, #9 North Carolina A&T 0

Singles
#1 Hedda Gurholt (W&M) vs. Lana Caculovic (A&T) – DNF, 7-5, 3-2
#2 Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) vs. Cielo Tapia Cruz (A&T) – DNF, 7-5, 0-0
#3 Sofiya Kuzina (W&M) d. Nuria Sanz (A&T), 6-1, 6-4
#4 Emma Fernald (W&M) d. Isabella Romanichen (A&T), 6-0, 6-4
#5 Ine Stange (W&M) vs. Nour Gueblaoui (A&T) – DNF, 6-6 (2-1)
#6 Emma Pell (W&M) d. Asima Sazan (A&T), 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 3*

Doubles
#1 Kuzina/Stange (W&M) vs. Caculovic/Romanichen (A&T) – DNF, 4-2
#2 Van Meeteren/Fernald (W&M) d. Cruz/Sanz (A&T), 6-0
#3 Gurholt/Pell (W&M) d. Gueblaoui/Sazan (A&T), 6-0
Order of Finish: 2, 3*

#4 Elon 4, #5 Stony Brook 0

Singles
#1 Sibel Tanik (EU) vs. Loreto Rubio (SBU) – DNF, 2-6, 4-5
#2 Lizette Reding (EU) d. Kristine Theys (SBU), 6-3, 6-3
#3 Helen Sarikulaya (EU) vs. Chandrika Joshi (SBU) – DNF, 1-6, 5-4
#4 Julie Ball (EU) d. Kristi Boro (SBU), 7-6 (3), 6-4
#5 Olivia Archer (EU) d. Mathilde Sreeves (SBU), 6-3, 6-1
#6 Miray Konar (EU) vs. Debby Mastrodima (SBU) – DNF, 6-2, 5-3
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2*

Doubles
#1 Tanik/Reding (EU) d. Rubio/Boro (SBU), 6-2
#2 Ball/Madison Cordisco (EU) vs. Theys/Sreeves (SBU) – DNF, 4-4
#3 Archer/Konar (EU) d. Joshi/Mastrodima (SBU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1*

#7 Drexel 4, #2 Delaware 2

Singles
#1 Lorie Lemongo (DU) d. Adel-Byanu Abidullina (UD), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
#2 Renata Lombera (DU) d. Alina Vasilenko (UD), 6-4, 6-2
#3 Isabel Cabrerizo (DU) d. Maryia Hrynashka (UD), 6-4, 6-3
#4 Toni Nelson (UD) d. Mya Fuentes (DU), 6-3, 6-0
#5 Cristina Corte Gonzalez (DU) vs. Julieta Honrubia (UD) – DNF, 4-6, 6-6 (3-3)
#6 Aida Garcia Mendez (DU) d. Isabella Montana (UD), 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 4, 3, 1*

Doubles
#1 Abidullina/Eliza Askarova (UD) vs. Lemongo/Lombera (DU) – DNF, 4-4
#2 Vasilenko/Montana (UD) d. Cabrerizo/Garcia Mendez (DU), 6-2
#3 Honrubia/Hrynashka (UD) d. Fuentes/Corte Gonzalez (DU), 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3*

#6 UNCW 4, #3 Charleston 3

#1 Zoe Huffman (UNCW) d. Slade Coetzee (CofC), 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-0
#2 Eda Arli (UNCW) d. Halli Trinkle (CofC), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
#3 Maja Jekauc (CofC) d. Anna Daniels (UNCW), 6-2, 6-0
#4 Ella Faessler (CofC) d. Lauren Gish (UNCW), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
#5 Nicole Stephens (CofC) d. Stela Joksimovic (UNCW), 6-2, 6-4
#6 Gabbie Glickstein (UNCW) d. Peyton Brotzman (CofC), 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 6, 4, 2, 1*

Doubles
#1 Gish/Arli (UNCW) d. Coetzee/Trinkle (CofC), 6-2
#2 Huffman/Daniels (UNCW) d. Faessler/Stephens (CofC), 6-4
#3 Jekauc/Klara Vukicevic (CofC) vs. Joksimovic/Meredith Taylor (UNCW) – DNF, 3-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2*