Elmira Earns Fourth Straight with 8-1 Win Over Hartwick
Box Score
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's tennis team (4-1, 3-1 E8) made it four wins in a row Sunday afternoon, defeating Hartwick College 8-1 at the Murray Athletic Center. The win puts EC on the brink of an Empire 8 Tournament berth and avenges the loss that kept the Soaring Eagles out of the tournament last season.
Elmira got off to a great start, sweeping all three doubles matches. The first doubles tandem of
Amy Schmidt '15 and
Kayla Fitzgerald '15 jumped out to a 6-1 lead and finished off Hartwick, 8-4. Second doubles was a little closer as
Ayaka Yoshino '16 and
Danielle Levine '17 held a 6-5 advantage before winning the last two games for the 8-5 victory.
Ellen Plowman '16 and
Kristi Chanda '17 battled with the Hartwick duo at third doubles as the foursome exchanged games. EC won two-straight games to take an 8-7 advantage and then closed out the 9-7 victory.
The Soaring Eagles rode the momentum into singles, winning five of six singles matches. Second year standout, Yoshino, was the first to finish her match, taking care of her opponent 6-2, 6-0. Close behind her was Fitzgerald, who clinched the win for EC with her 6-4, 6-2 performance.
The match had been won, but there were still four women on the court pursuing victories. Schmidt, playing quite the competitor at the number one singles spot, did more than enough to earn the respect of her opponent and the opposing coach, defeating Hartwick's number one, 6-2, 6-2. Newcomer, Levine, was the next to come off the court as she closed out a 6-3, 6-4 win at the fourth singles position. Plowman took care of business at the six spot, winning 6-0, 6-2.
The last player on the court,
Stephanie Tock '16, found herself in quite the match as she would play three sets. Tock lost the first set 6-3, but rallied to win the second set 7-6 in a tiebreak. In the decisive third set super-tiebreak, Tock fell in an early hole and was unable to recover as she lost the super-tiebreaker 10-4.
The Soaring Eagles will not have much time to celebrate this win as they host Alfred University on Tuesday, September 24th for their final home match of the season. A win against the Saxons and Elmira could very well punch their ticket to the Empire 8 Championships. The match is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m.
Elmira College 8, Hartwick College 1
Singles Competition
1. Amy Schmidt (EC) def. Ruthie Jones (HC) 6-2, 6-2
2. Ayaka Yoshino (EC) def. Nicole Schepisi (HC) 6-2, 6-0
3. Danielle Levine (EC) def. Rebecca Clark (HC) 6-3, 6-4
4. Kayla Fitzgerald (EC) def. Kristen Napolitano (HC) 6-4, 6-2
5. Caitlin O'Brien (HC) def. Stephanie Tock (EC) 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-4
6. Ellen Plowman (EC) def. Lauren Noyes (HC) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Schmidt/Fitzgerald (EC) def. Jones/Schepisi (HC) 8-4
2. Yoshino/Levine (EC) def. Clark/Michaela Finnegan (HC) 8-5
3. Plowman/Kristi Chanda (EC) def. Napolitano/Noyes (HC) 9-7