Endicott Women's Tennis Wins Fourth Straight CCC Title and Fifth Overall
BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women’s tennis team hosted their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship match in program history and rose to the occasion, winning 5-1 over Nichols, as the Gulls captured their fourth straight conference title and fifth since the 2008 season. Endicott earned the CCC’s automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, a postseason tournament that they have played into the Second Round in back-to-back years under third year’s coach Jeremy Howard.
2014 CCC Women's Tennis Championship – Interactive Bracket
BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's tennis team hosted their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship match in program history and rose to the occasion, winning 5-1 over Nichols, as the Gulls captured their fourth straight conference title and fifth since the 2008 season. Endicott earned the CCC's automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, a postseason tournament that they have played into the Second Round in back-to-back years under third year's coach Jeremy Howard.
The national tournament, beginning on with regional action May 8th-10th, will release seeding and schedule information in April of 2015.
Behind the standout play of CCC Player of the Year Amy Heacox (Marion, Mass.) and sophomore All-CCC honoree Mackenzie Rhodes (Rye, N.H.), who both factored into four points for the Blue and Green on Sunday, Endicott was able to capture their first conference title as the league's top seed as they were forced to win on Nichols courts the past three seasons. Heacox teamed up with fellow All-CCC First Team Doubles partner, freshman Dayna Reilly (Swansea, Mass.), for an 8-5 win at the #1 doubles flight over CCC Rookie of the Year Alanna Judd (Westborough, Mass.) and her partner freshman Lauren Candia (Anaheim Hills, Calif.). Heacox, in her top singles matches against Judd, won in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 to push Endicott's team lead up to 4-1.
Rhodes and #3 doubles freshman partner Maxine Bergstein (Hingham, Mass.) secured an early 2-0 lead in doubles with an 8-1 win over Bison freshmen Ashley Dallaire (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Daniela Saldarriaga (Medellin, Colombia). Gulls senior captain Natalie Egbert (Gorham, Maine) then opened up singles play with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 performance over Bison sophomore Cristina Szepanski (Windsor Locks, Conn.) at #2 singles. After Heacox won her singles match to make it 4-1 Endicott and Rhodes went up a set on Saldarriaga at #6 singles, Rhodes grinded out a 6-4 second set victory to clinch the match and the conference championship for the Gulls.
Nichols had a chance to make up ground in the championship as they won #2 doubles 8-4 behind stellar play from senior captain Lindsay Benoit (Holden, Mass.) and Szepanski. In singles action, the Bison held leads in both the #3 and #5 singles flights as Benoit won her first set 6-4 and had a 4-3 advantage over Reilly in set two while Dallaire was up 6-4, 5-4 on Gulls junior Brittany Potter (Bedford, N.H.). At the #4 singles position, Endicott junior Suzie Newman (Dighton, Mass.) took set one 6-4, her opponent Candia won the second set 6-3, and the two ended their match 2-2 as Rhodes and the Gulls won the match to decision.
For Endicott's senior captains Heacox, Natalie Egbert (Gorham, Maine), and Chrissy Martel (Westbrook, Conn.), the trio ends their CCC playing days as four-time conference champions. This feat has been accomplished by only players from the men's lacrosse (2004-07), softball (2003-11), women's lacrosse (2006-present), and women's soccer (2003-07) programs.