Simmons Tennis Claims 6th Consecutive GNAC Championship
WINCHESTER, Mass. -- No. 1 seed Simmons Tennis defeated the #2 seed Johnson & Wales Wildcats 6-1 to claim their 6th consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Sunday afternoon at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Lawn.
WINCHESTER, Mass. -- No. 1 seed Simmons Tennis defeated the #2 seed Johnson & Wales Wildcats 6-1 to claim their 6th consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Sunday afternoon at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Lawn.
In doubles action, Simmons took a 2-1 lead as senior Margaret Teague (Manchester, N.H.) paired with sophomore Meghan Cokely (Haverhill, Mass.) to defeat Samantha Jo Borr and Ansley Sego 8-1 at the number one spot. Kristi Mielbye (Hanson, Mass.) and Rachael Downey (Groveland, Mass.) teamed up to defeat Gabrielle Longo and Emily Glass 8-2 at the No. 3 spot. The Wildcats took a hard-fought second doubles match 9-7 as Darcy Predieri and Morgan Thompson defeated first years Theresa Reinhard (Canton, Ohio) and Sofie Epshtein (Newton, Mass.) for the team's lone point.
The Sharks continued to dominate in singles action as Teague defeated Jo Borr 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 1 spot and Reinhard topped Thompson 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 2 spot. Cokely added the Sharks fifth point with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Piperis and Cathy Baker (Simsbury, Conn.) defeated Vicky Riccardi 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 5 position.
"I am extremely proud of this team. Despite being so young, they were extremely disciplined from the outset. Half of our singles starters were first-years but they adapted to college tennis quickly and handled the pressure situations like upperclass players. Having the best player in the conference in Margaret Teague certainly provided a solid anchor," said Head Coach Bob Rauseo.
The Sharks, who end their fall season with an overall record of 12-2 and 6-0 in the conference, will compete in the 2014 NCAA Division III Tennis Championship tournament beginning May 9.
All-Tournament Team:
Meghan Cokely, Simmons
Theresa Reinhard, Simmons
Morgan Thompson, Johnson & Wales
Darcy Predieri, Johnson & Wales
Aidiana Sagyndykova, Suffolk
Victoria Minotti, Anna Maria
Tournament MVP: Margaret Teague, Simmons
*Release courtesy of Simmons College Sports Information