FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
#1 COLBY-SAWYER 6, #4 REGIS 1
WINCHESTER, Mass. – In their first season in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), the top-seeded Colby-Sawyer Chargers will play for a GNAC Championship after today's 6-1 semifinal victory over fourth-seeded Regis College. The Chargers, who improve to 9-2 overall, will take on third-seeded Johnson & Wales University Sunday at 12:30 PM at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center after JWU upset second-seeded Eastern Nazarene College, 5-4, in a semifinal thriller on Saturday.
In the race to five points, Colby-Sawyer took an important 2-1 lead after doubles play. The Chargers' No. 3 duo of senior Hilary Boucher (Presque Isle, Maine) and junior Alexa Conlin (Westborough, Mass.) defeated first-year Kaeleigh FitzPatrick (South Windsor, Conn.) and first-year Lauren Mogelnicki (Wethersfield, Conn.), 8-1, to put the first point on the board. Colby-Sawyer sophomore Yashu Yang(Kunming City, China) and first-year Anna Kopituk (Morristown, Tenn.) gave the Chargers a 2-0 advantage with an 8-2 victory over senior Katasha Jarvis (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) and junior Ariana McCormack (Worcester, Mass.) at the top spot. Regis recorded a point by winning No. 2 doubles behind strong play from sophomore Carly Donoavan (Harwich, Mass.) and first-year Katelyn Mogelnicki (Wethersfield, Conn.). The Pride tandem defeated senior Maddy Gemerek (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) and senior Aislinn O'Connor (New Fairfield, Conn.) by an 8-6 score.
Yang put Colby-Sawyer in front 3-1 with an impressive 6-1, 6-0 triumph at the top singles flight over Donovan.
O'Connor then pulled the Chargers within one point from clinching the match with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jarvis at No. 3. The win for O'Connor is her 52nd career singles victory to tie for fourth on Colby-Sawyer's all-time list.
Conlin and Boucher then won their singles matches at No. 5 and No. 6, simultaneously, to give Colby-Sawyer the 6-1 win. Conlin defeated Lauren Mogelnicki 6-1, 6-1, while Boucher dropped just one game to defeat sophomore Ginger Boodakian (Burlington, Mass.) 6-1 and 6-0.
Courtesy of Colby-Sawyer Athletics Communications.
#3 JOHNSON & WALES 5, #2 EASTERN NAZARENE 4
Two weeks ago, Eastern Nazarene College won the final match on the court to defeat the Johnson & Wales University women's tennis team. With a spot in the conference championship on the line, the Wildcats turned the tables to beat the Lions, 5-4, on Saturday at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center in the GNAC Semifinals
Johnson & Wales improved to 12-4 and will take on Colby-Sawyer in Sunday's finals at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center.
Unlike the first matchup, senior Delaney Macchirole was a winner in the final match on the court. She fought off three match points to win 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the deciding match.
Just like the regular season meeting, JWU was down 2-1 after doubles. Lauren Torre and Katherine Ledesma were 8-1 winners at number three.
Gabriella Velazquez evened the match at 2-2 with her 6-1, 6-0 win at number six. The Lions pulled ahead, 3-2, but Drew Bobey won 6-3, 6-1 at number five to tie the match. ENC was a point away with a win at number one, but Macchirole came through in the clutch.
Johnson & Wales lost 8-1 to Colby-Sawyer in the regular season.
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.
First Round - Wednesday, October 17 (at high seeds)
Match 1: #3 JWU 5, #6 Simmons 0 | BOX (at RIC)
Match 2: #4 Regis 5, #5 Suffolk 1 | BOX (at Regis)
Semifinals - Saturday, October 20 (at Winchester Indoor Tennis Center)
Match 3: #1 Colby-Sawyer 6, #4 Regis 1 | BOX
Match 4: #3 JWU 5, #2 Eastern Nazarene 4 | BOX
Championship - Sunday, October 21 (at Winchester Indoor Tennis Center)
Match 5: #3 JWU vs. #1 Colby-Sawyer - 12:30 PM
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –