DALLAS, Texas – Trinity University turned away a stiff effort from Southwestern University to earn its third-straight Southern College Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Championship. The Tigers earned a 5-1 victory over the Pirates Sunday afternoon on the Ruth & Ken Altshuler indoor courts at the Brookshire Family Pavilion on the campus of SMU . Official Website | Postmatch Interview | Photo Album
In a battle of two top 45 teams, Trinity jumped out to a 2-1 lead following doubles after the third line pairing of Bella Andrade and Ellie Hughes secured the deciding point with an 8-4 victory over Valeria Gracia and Sydney Wahl. Trinity Levy and Cate Cushing put the Tigers up 1-0 with the first point of the afternoon winning line two doubles 8-5 over Southwestern’s Daryl Locke and Kimberly Duncan. The Pirates evened the match when the top doubles pairing of Mary Young and Erika Synoski took down Trintiy’s top doubles team of Ruth Hill and Olivia Kim, 8-7.
The Tigers came out with a determination in singles, as Trintiy secured the opening set in five of the six matches on court. Trinity’s Cushing, who closed out last year’s conference title match secured the first singles point of the day to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead after defeating Southwestern’s Duncan, 6-2, 6-0 at line six.
At that point it was a race to clinch for the Tigers, ultimately Andrade and Levy slammed the door shut for Trinity winning in straight sets at lines five and three. Andrade defeated Southwestern’s Valeria Garcia, 6-0, 6-2, while Levy clinched the crown for TU with a 6-0, 6-3 win over the Pirates’ Locke.
The championship is the 26th overall for the Trinity women's tennis program, the third-most conference crowns by one program in SCAC history, trailing only the Trinity men's tennis program, which vies for its 28th immediately following the awards ceremony and the 27 by the Trintiy women’s soccer program.
As conference champion, Trinity (15-4) earns the SCAC's automatic qualification for the NCAA III National Championship tournament, and will learn its destination for NCAA for regional competition when brackets are announced on Monday, May 6th. Southwestern, which is currently ranked eighth in the most recent regional rankings, will await word of an at-large berth.
First, Second and Third round play will be held on various campus sites from May 9-12 with the 2024 NCAA III tournament's final site at the Dwight Davis Memorial Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Once at the finals site, quarterfinal, semifinal and championship play will occur from May 20-27.
#11 TRINITY UNIVERSITY 5, #45 SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 1
April 28, 2024 at Dallas, Texas (SMU Indoor Courts)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Ruth Hill (TU) vs. Mary Young (SU) 6-2, 5-1, unfinished |
| 2. Ellie Hughes (TU) vs. Erika Synoski (SU) 6-2, 4-3, unfinished |
| 3. Trinity Levy (TU) def. Daryl Locke (SU) 6-0, 6-3 |
| 4. Olivia Kim (TU) vs. Sydney Wahl (SU) 2-6, 2-2, unfinished |
| 5. Rosabella Andrade (TU) def. Valeria Gracia (SU) 6-0, 6-2 |
| 6. Cate Cushing (TU) def. Kimberly Duncan (SU) 6-2, 6-0 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Mary Young/Erika Synoski (SU) def. Ruth Hill/Olivia Kim (TU) 8-7 (7-2) |
| 2. Trinity Levy/Cate Cushing (TU) def. Daryl Locke/Kimberly Duncan (SU) 8-5 |
| 3. Rosabella Andrade/Ellie Hughes (TU) def. Valeria Gracia/Sydney Wahl (SU) 8-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Southwestern University 14-10; National ranking #45 |
| Trinity University 14-4; National ranking #11; Regional ranking #3 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (,6,5,3) |
| 2024 SCAC Championship Match |
| T-2:15 |
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The NCAA will announce team selections May 6, and the first three rounds will be played May 9-12. The team quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship, along with the singles and doubles tournament, are set for May 20-27 at the Dwight Davis Memorial Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
