Women's Tennis | 10/15/2022 10:35:58 PM
ITHACA NY -- Top-seeded Hartwick College won its first-ever Empire 8 Women's Tennis Championship with a 5-1 victory over No. 2 seed Nazareth College, 5-1 in the 2022 title game from Ithaca College on Saturday, Oct. 15. Hartwick freshman Phoebe Olson was named the 2022 Empire 8 Women's Tennis Championship Most Valuable Player.
The Hawks improved to 13-0 and earned their second win of the year over the Golden Flyers. Hartwick also gained the Empire 8's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament, which will be contested in May of 2023.
Hartwick started the match the same way they started their regular season matchup with the Golden Flyers, taking wins at second and third doubles to take a 2-1 advantage.
At second doubles,
Phoebe Olson (Jamestown, N.Dak.) and
Lily Vanuga (Springville, N.Y.) defeated their opponents 8-4. The thirddoubles team of
Maggie Van Valkenburgh (Highland, N.Y.) and
Maddi Morrison (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) took an 8-3 win to remain a perfect 13-0 on the year as a doubles team.
In order to reach the magic number of five wins and claim the title, the Hawks needed to take three of the six singles matches.
Ryann Ashby (Malta, N.Y.) got Hartwick to three with a commanding 6-0, 6-2 win at fourth single
Vanuga picked up the fourth at sixth singles by scores of 6-2 and 6-1. With the win, the first year remained perfect on the year with a 12-0 record in singles play. The other four singles contests were tight affairs as each match went into the decisive third set.
Olson rallied back from a 4-6 first set loss to defeat her counterpart 6-1 and 6-2 in the second and third sets respectively to get the Hawks to their magic number of five wins to claim the championship. She was named Tournament MVP for her efforts.
Both teams advanced to the E8 Championship match after semifinal wins on Friday. Hartwick shutout No. 4 seed Alfred University, 5-0, while Nazareth earned a 5-1 win over No. 3 seed Houghton University.
2022 Empire 8 Women's Tennis Championship Schedule
Friday, October 14 - Semifinals (at Ithaca College)
No. 1 Hartwick College defeated No. 4 Alfred University, 5-0 –
BOX SCORE
No. 2 Nazareth College defeated No. 3 Houghton University, 5-1 –
BOX SCORE
Saturday, October 15 - Championship (at Ithaca College)
No. 1 Hartwick College defeated No. 2 Nazareth College, 5-1 -
BOX SCORE
2022 Empire 8 Women's Tennis Most Valuable Player
Phoebe Olson, Fr., Hartwick
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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