FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of Colby-Sawyer Athletics Communications
WINCHESTER, Mass. – The Colby-Sawyer women's tennis team defeated Johnson & Wales, 5-0, to win the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship held at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon.
Colby-Sawyer, which is in its first season as a GNAC member, improves to 10-2 and earns the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament in the spring. Johnson & Wales goes to 12-5.
The Chargers swept doubles play to take an important 3-0 advantage in the race to five points.
The Colby-Sawyer senior duo of Maddy Gemerek (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) and Aislinn O'Connor (New Fairfield, Conn.) put the Chargers in front 1-0 with an 8-2 victory over senior Delany Macchirole (Greenport, N.Y.) and first-year Kourtney Moore (Roswell, Ga.) at No. 2. Seconds later, the Chargers took a 2-0 lead with an 8-4 triumph by senior Hilary Boucher (Presque Isle, Maine) and junior Alexa Conlin(Westborough, Mass.) over sophomore Katherine Ledesma (Coral Springs, Fla.) and senior Lauren Torre (New Fairfield, Conn.). In the tightest doubles match of the afternoon, Colby-Sawyer's top tandem of sophomore Yashu Yang (Kunming City, China) and first-year Anna Kopituk (Morristown, Tenn.) outlasted first-year Drew Bobey (Charlestown, S.C.) and sophomore Claire Parry (Westport, Conn.), 8-5.
At the top singles flight, Yashu Yang defeated Claire Parry 6-0 and 6-2 to give Colby-Sawyer a 4-0 lead. Yang was named GNAC Tournament MVP.
Aislinn O'Connor recorded the championship clinching point with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Delaney Macchirole at No. 3. With the win, O'Connor moved into a tie for third in career victories with Lauren Blanchard '18 with 117 wins.
All-Tournament Team
Eastern Nazarene – Adele Duval
Regis – Carly Donovan
Johnson & Wales – Delaney Macchirole
Johnson & Wales – Claire Parry
Colby-Sawyer – Hilary Boucher
Colby-Sawyer – Anna Kopituk
Colby-Sawyer – Yashu Yang (MVP)
Colby-Sawyer 5, Johnson & Wales 0
10/21/18 at Winchester, MA (Winchester Indoor Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Yashu Yang (CSCW) def. Claire Parry (JWUWT) 6-0, 6-2 |
| 2. Maddy Gemerek (CSCW) vs. Lauren Torre (JWUWT) 1-6, 2-4, unfinished |
| 3. Aislinn O'Connor (CSCW) def. Delaney Macchirole (JWUWT) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 4. Anna Kopituk (CSCW) vs. Kourtney Moore (JWUWT) 6-1, 5-3, unfinished |
| 5. Alexa Conlin (CSCW) vs. Drew Bobey (JWUWT) 6-2, 2-5, unfinished |
| 6. Hilary Boucher (CSCW) vs. Gabriela Velazquez (JWUWT) 6-4, 2-2, unfinished |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Anna Kopituk/Yashu Yang (CSCW) def. Drew Bobey/Claire Parry (JWUWT) 8-5 |
| 2. Maddy Gemerek/Aislinn O'Connor (CSCW) def. Delaney Macchirole/Kourtney Moore (JWUWT) 8-2 |
| 3. Hilary Boucher/Alexa Conlin (CSCW) def. KatherineLedesma/Lauren Torre (JWUWT) 8-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Johnson & Wales 12-5 |
| Colby-Sawyer 10-2 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,3) |
| T-2:40 A-30 |
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 –
2018 GNAC Women's Tennis Championship
