BRISTOL, R.I. – The Endicott women's tennis team registered a 5-1 win over Roger Williams University (RWU) on Wednesday evening in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament semifinals at the RWU Tennis Courts.
In doubles play, the third-seeded Gulls received wins from Gretta Hartman (Glastonbury, Conn.) / Justine Hoover (Wallingford, Conn.) at No. 1 (8-2) and Olivia Berler (Marstons Mills, Mass.) / Cameron Foley (Lynnfield, Mass.) at No. 3 (8-5) to take a 2-1 advantage headed into singles action.
Hoover, Berler, and Ashley Keaveney (Exeter, N.H.) then carried that momentum into singles as the trio claimed victories at the No. 1 (6-1, 6-1), No. 4 (6-3, 6-3), and No. 5 (6-2, 6-1) spots, respectively, to punch Endicott's ticket to the CCC Championship for the ninth straight year.
TOP QUOTE
"This match means a lot to the program," said Endicott women's tennis head coach Anthony D'Angelo. "We will definitely enjoy it tonight, but refocus on our long-term goals for practice tomorrow."
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- In the regular season, Endicott fell to Roger Williams on the road, 5-4.
- That win for the Hawks aided them to the No. 2 seed in this year's CCC Tournament.
- Meanwhile, in today's match, Endicott led in every singles flight before Keaveney clinched the match at No. 5.
- The Gulls' CCC Semifinals singles lineup featured some differences in comparison to their regular season lineup including Hoover at No. 1 (No. 2 previously), Hartman at No. 2 (No. 1), Cara McCormack (Worcester, Mass.) at No. 3 (No. 4), Berler at No. 4 (No. 3), Keaveney at No. 5 (No. 6), and Cameron Foley (Lynnfield, Mass.) at No. 6 (No. 5).
- The lineup switch paid huge dividends for Endicott as Hoover, Berler, and Keaveney dominated at No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5, respectively, while Hartman (6-3, 5-4), McCormack (6-5), and Foley (7-5, 2-2) were all well-positioned to come away with wins in the match if not for the first-to-five playoff format.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (11-3) will travel to first-seeded Nichols to play for the CCC Championship on Saturday, September 26 at 1 PM. It marks the fourth straight year Endicott and Nichols will clash for the CCC title and eighth time overall since 2011. The Gulls are 4-3 all-time in those meetings.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)