(Story courtesy of Trinity University)
CARY, N.C. - Trinity women's tennis player Mackenzie Knoop advanced to the Semifinals before being eliminated in the NCAA Singles Championships on Friday afternoon.
Knoop opened the day with a three-set win over Amherst College's Laura Danzig in the Quarterfinals. She rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win to become Trinity's first semifinalist since Lizzie Yasser reached the Singles Championship in 2002. It marked Knoop's third win of the tournament in which she dropped the first set.
In the Semifinals, Knoop was beaten by Lok-Sze Leung of Middlebury College 6-1, 6-4. Leung will face Emory's Gabrielle Clark in tomorrow's final. Clark was a 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 winner in her Semifinals match.
Knoop and Thavindra Ekanayake lost in the opening round of doubles in yesterday's action, while men's tennis individuals Max Frey and Erick DelaFuente also lost in the first round - Frey in singles, and Frey/DelaFuente in doubles.
Head Coach Russell McMindes and Assistant Coach Jacob McMindes led both of Trinity's teams to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship this season. The Tiger men won for the third straight season, while the women won their first title since 2006. Trinity has had an individual make the Singles Semifinals each of the past two seasons, as Frey also reached the same round in the tournament last year.
