NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Trinity and Sewanee were both semifinal winners on day two of the 2012 SCAC women's tennis championship, and as a result will meet for the 2012 SCAC championship tomorrow morning at Burns Park Tennis Center.
SEMIFINAL ONE RECAP (Courtesy of Trinity
University)
The Tiger women's tennis team defeated Millsaps College 8-1 to
advance to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship
match for the first time in three seasons.
Trinity improves to 17-7 this season with the win, and will shoot for its first conference title since sharing the crown in 2006. The Tigers have finished third the past two seasons (also third in 2007), and were second in 2008 and 2009.
The doubles competition saw Trinity jump out to a 3-0 lead in the match, starting with an 8-0 win by Stephanie Williamson and Kassie Seger at No. 3 doubles. Mackenzie Knoop and Thavindra Ekanayake won 8-4 at the top doubles spot. At line two, Katie Griffith and Kylie Hornbeck earned a hard-fought 9-7 win.
Lavinia Bendandi scored a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 5, leading the Tigers to five wins in six individual matches in singles. Ekanayake (No. 2) and Williamson (No. 6) both earned 6-0, 6-2 wins in singles.
Hornbeck took a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles, while doubles partner Katie Griffith suffered a 2-6, 5-7 loss at No. 3. Knoop battled out a 4-6, 6-1, 10-4 win at line one to finish off the scoring.
Trinity will face familiar foe Sewanee: University of the South in the SCAC Championship on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. The two teams came into the tournament as the top seeds.
SEMIFINAL TWO RECAP (Courtesy of Sewanee: University of the South)
Coach Conchie Shackelford notched her 450th career
win today as the second-seeded Sewanee Tigers steamrolled over the
#3 Southwestern Pirates 9-0 in a semifinal matchup at the SCAC
Women's Tennis Championships in North Little Rock, Ark.
The win was the fourteenth shutout of the season for the red hot
Tigers who have lost only one point in their last eight matches,
winning seven of those matches by 9-0 margins.
The sixteenth-ranked Tigers are set to square off with top-seeded
and #14 Trinity University in tomorrow's championship finals
scheduled for 8:00 am. Trinity advanced to the finals with an 8-1
victory over Millsaps College.
Sewanee completely dominated the singles competition losing no
sets and dropping only eleven games to the Pirates in the six
matches. Jenny Liles at #1 and #2 Bronte Goodhue both swept
their matches 6-0 and 6-0. Goodhue is yet to lose a game in
her two matches at the tournament.
A back injury to #3 singles player Liz Lucas caused her to have to
be pulled out of the singles lineup following doubles forcing the #
4-6 singles players to move up spots and Julia Wood to step in at #
6. Wood responded with a straight-set (6-1, 6-2) win.
For a complete listing of all first day match results, click to the Official website of the 2012 championships.
