April 19, 2008

2008 Patriot League Women's Tennis Championship Page

West Point, N.Y. - The championship match is set for the 2008 Patriot League Women's Tennis Championship, and it will feature the top-two seeds in this year's bracket. Top seed and host Army will take on second-seeded Bucknell in Sunday's championship match, which is scheduled to start around 1:15 p.m. The Black Knights will be looking to win their fourth-consecutive team title, while the Bison are searching for their first team title since the 1994 season.

It was another picture-perfect day for tennis to be played as the four semifinal teams took to the courts at the Malek Tennis Center on the campus of the United States Military Academy. In the first match of the day, No. 1 Army took on No. 4 Lehigh, who had advanced to the semifinals with a 7-0 victory over No. 5 Holy Cross on Friday. The Black Knights played well early and often on this day, as they swept the Mountain Hawks by a final score of 4-0. The Black Knights kicked things off with two doubles victories, as the duo of Annie Houghton and Niki Flach won their match 8-1, while the pair of Sarah Giles-Madden and Kristin Beehler tallied an 8-2 victory. In the singles competition, No. 1 Annie Houghton, No. 4 Kristin Beehler and No. 5 Caitlin Finnegan each earned victories to notch the 4-0 team win. Beehler and Finnegan each won 6-0, 6-0. In the other three singles matches, Army was leading in two while Lehigh was leading in the other. Lehigh finishes the season with an overall record of 11-10, while Army will play in tomorrow's championship match.

The second match-up of the day featured No. 2 Bucknell and No. 3 Colgate, who had advanced to the semifinals by virtue of a 4-0 defeat of No. 6 Lafayette in the quarterfinal round. Bucknell took over the match right from the start, as they earned two doubles victories while leading in the third doubles match. Tania Varela and Lauren Lucido earned an 8-1 victory, while Paulina Gamboa and Carlin Calcaterra teamed up for an 8-4 victory. The singles matches were also dominated by the second-seeded Bison, who swept the top three positions to earn the 4-0 win. No. 3 Lauren Lucido earned the first singles point for Bucknell, followed by No. 1 Tania Varela and No. 2 Paulina Gamboa. The Bison were also leading in the other three singles matches when the overall match had been decided. Colgate ends their '08 season with an overall record of 11-9, while the Bison will look to cap off a championship season tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow's championship match will begin at approximately 1:15 p.m. For more information on the 2008 Patriot League Women's Tennis Championship, including daily recaps and results, please visit the Patriot League Championship Page or click here.

Saturday, April 19 - Semifinals

No. 1 Army 4, No. 4 Lehigh 0

Singles
1. Annie Houghton, Army def. Allison Schwartz, Lehigh 6-1, 6-3
2. Niki Flach, Army vs. Ariela Cohen, Lehigh 7-6 (8-6), 2-0 DNF
3. Sarah Giles-Madden, Army vs. Julie Arthofer, Lehigh 6-3, 2-3 DNF
4. Kristin Beehler, Army def. Ruthie Furman, Lehigh 6-0, 6-0
5. Caitlin Finnegan, Army def. Victoria Vityuk, Lehigh 6-0, 6-0
6. Diana Alquero, Army vs. Stacey Reich, Lehigh 6-0, 3-3 DNF

Doubles
1. Houghton/Flach, Army def. Schwartz/Furman, Lehigh 8-1
2. Giles-Madden/Beehler, Army def. Cohen/Reich, Lehigh 8-2
3. Bridie Burke/Christine Limsiaco, Army vs. Vityuk/Arthofer, Lehigh 7-4 DNF

No. 2 Bucknell 4, No. 3 Colgate 0

Singles
1. Tania Varela, Bucknell def. Elise DeRose, Colgate 6-1, 6-1
2. Paulina Gamboa, Bucknell def. Samantha Inacker, Colgate 6-2, 7-5
3. Lauren Lucido, Bucknell def. Isabel Riemer, Colgate 6-3, 6-1
4. Carlin Calcaterra, Bucknell vs. Cameron Williams, Colgate 1-6, 6-3, 4-3 DNF
5. Dara Dwojewski, Bucknell vs. Erin Fenn, Colgate 6-4, 4-2 DNF
6. Lauren Rottkamp, Bucknell vs. Isabel Riemer, Colgate 6-4, 5-2 DNF

Doubles
1. Varela/Lucido, Bucknell def. DeRose/Inacker, Colgate 8-1
2. Gamboa/Calcaterra, Bucknell def. Williams/Bender, Colgate 8-4
3. Dwojewski/Baffa, Bucknell def. Fenn/Riemer, Colgate 6-2 DNF

DNF - Did Not Finish