JWU and Simmons Advance to Sunday's GNAC Women's Tennis Title Match in Winchester

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINCHESTER, Mass. - Top-seeded Johnson & Wales University blanked fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 5-0, on Saturday and and second-seeded Simmons College handled third-seeded Suffolk University, 5-2, in the 2016 GNAC Women's Tennis Tournament Semifinals held at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Club. Simmons and JWU will square off Sunday at 12:30 PM in a rematch of last year's conference title match with an automatic berth to next spring's NCAA Division III Tournament at stake. 

#1 JWU 5, #4 USJ 0 - BOX
Johnson & Wales got off to a fast start by sweeping all three doubles points. The team of Holly Olson(Mukwongago, Wisc.) and Madison Hernandez (Phoenix, Ariz.) won quickly at number three, 8-0. The Wildcats got an 8-3 victories from the number one tandem of Morgan Thompson (Fargo, ND) and Luiza Silva Simoes (Cuiaba, Brazil). Wrapping up the sweep was Nina Cohen(Guatemala City, Guatemala) and Delaney Macchirole(Greenport, NY) at number two with an 8-6 triumph.

Hernandez was first off the court in single, rolling to a 6-0, 6-0 triumph at number six over Domonique Carnot. Wrapping up the team victory was Silva Simoes as she took down Sakinah Abdulsalam, 6-1, 6-1.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

#2 SIMMONS 5, #3 SUFFOLK 2 - BOX
The Sharks improveD to 7-5 on the season with Saturday's semifinal victory, while the Rams fall to 9-9. Simmons advances to the GNAC Championship match for the 13th straight year and will take on top-seeded Johnson & Wales University, which defeated fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 5-0, earlier in the day. 

First year Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam) and junior Olivia Lakes (Dorchester, Mass.) were both double winners for Simmons.

The Sharks took a 2-1 edge following doubles play. Nguyen and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) put Simmons on the board with an 8-1 victory at second doubles over junior Isabel Rathlev (Wellesley, Mass.) and Elena Cisneros Garcia (Barcelona, Spain). The Sharks increased their lead to 2-0, following a first doubles victory. First year Jessica Schroedl(Staatsburg, N.Y.) combined with Lakes for an 8-4 win over graduate student Eugenia Skorobogatova and first year Christina Texidor (Miami, Fla.). Suffolk cut the deficit in half when the junior pair of Valentina Medina (San Andrés, Colombia) and Jacquelyn Nakamura (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) earned an 8-5 decision over junior Mary Matthews(Wakefield, R.I.) and sophomore Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine). 

Lakes gave Simmons a 3-1 margin with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Texidor at fourth singles, but Skorobogatova got a point back for the Rams with a win at first singles. She scored a 6-4, 6-3 win over Schroedl to make it 3-2. Nguyen pushed the Sharks to the brink of a dual match victory following a 6-2, 6-2 win over Garcia at number two singles. First year Mai Driesen (Fayetteville, N.Y.) clinched the match for Simmons with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Rathlev at fifth singles for a 5-2 final.

Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications.