WEST WINDSOR, N.J.-
Monmouth University women's tennis team wrapped up the 2009-10 season with a
pair of wins at the 2010 Northeast Conference Championship over the weekend.
Due to a narrow defeat to Saint Francis (Pa.) the weekend
before, Monmouth had the difficult challenge of playing a pair of games on
Friday, the opening day of the Tournament.
The Hawks came out and played Saint Francis (N.Y.) at 9 a.m.; a team
they faced a few days earlier and blanked 7-0 at home.
The Hawks came out and shut out the Terriers again, this time 5-0. Freshman sensation Dana Ferrari (Saddle Brook, N.J./Immaculate
Heart Academy) won her No. 3 singles slot by a score of 6-0, 6-1 before
Britney Dupuis (Freehold,
N.J./Colts Neck), Kelly Friedrich (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) and
Shelby Goldman (West
Hempstead, N.Y./West Hempstead) all registered 6-0, 6-0 wins at the
fourth, fifth and six single flights to seal the win. Earlier in the match, Ferrari and fellow freshman
Nicole Lippens (West Long
Branch, N.J./Shore Regional) teamed for a 8-1 No. 1 doubles victory
while Jessica Slinger (Tinton
Falls, N.J./Monmouth Regional) and Friedrich wrapped up the team doubles
point with an 8-0 win at the third flight.
In their second match of the championship bracket, the Hawks
would lose 5-0 to eventual Tournament Champion Long Island, setting up the
rematch with the Red Flash on Saturday.
"The team wanted a second chance (at SFPA) after last week's loss," said
Monmouth head coach Patrice Murray. "It
was a great overall team effort, we are all quite pleased. This was definitely our best win all season
and probably one of the most gratifying wins of my career."
Monmouth came out and won the doubles point; with Lippens and Katie Tierney (Berkeley
Heights, N.J./Governor Livingston) winning 8-4 and avenging their tiebreak loss
to Samantha Fulchiero and Juliana Gustafson from a week ago. Tierney, who had been battling an injury for
over a week, had not practiced or played until the match against the Red Flash.
The MU second doubles tandem of senior Diane Washer (Ogdensburg, N.J./Wallkill)
and Ferrari defeated SFPA's Stephanie Rivera and Devyn Sarver by a score of 8-6
to tilt the team scoring in favor of the Hawks.
The third doubles match was at a 7-7 tie but was halted because the
Hawks had already claimed the team point.
Facing Saint Francis' strongest lineup (the Red Flash had a few injuries in the
previous matchup), the Hawks came away with three wins and just one singles
loss when the other two matches were halted.
First off the court was Dupuis, who handed Caitlin Bart a 6-2, 6-1 loss
at the No. 5 spot. At the top flight,
freshman Lippens came away with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Tierney, playing in the No. 4 spot, lost her
first set 3-6 but battled back to win the second set 6-3. They were getting ready to play a 10-point
super tiebreak to decide the match when Ferrari clinched the win for the Hawks
by dispatching Abigail Ball at the No. 3 position 6-2, 6-1. At the time Washer, who has combated a knee injury
late in the season, was in the second set of the No. 6 match, winning 5-1
(40-30) after losing the first set 4-6.
In the consolation bracket, the Hawks avenged the loss to the Red Flash,
downing Saint Francis (Pa.) by a score of 4-1 to secure their tie for fifth
place.
Monmouth wrapped up the spring season with a record of 6-4 and an overall
record of 9-10 on the season.
