WILLIAMSVILLE, NY – Playing their ninth match in thirteen days, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Women’s tennis team clinched their first-ever East Coast Conference regular season championship with a 6-1 victory over Daemen College on Tuesday.  A visibly exhausted Spartans squad had to overcome a determined Wildcats group intent on protecting their home court at the Williamsville South High School tennis courts.  STAC would face tough challenges at first and second doubles, but mustered just enough energy to come out with a sweep, earning the doubles point for the match.

            Using their newfound momentum, the Spartans went on the attack in singles, winning at third, fourth, and fifth positions to clinch the match.  Dauphine Donker ’24 (Amersfoort, Netherlands), fresh off being named ECC Rookie of the Week, continued her strong play with wins at third doubles and a 6-2, 6-1 triumph at third singles.  Her doubles partner, Flaminia Valci ’23 (Rome, Italy) followed suit with a 6-1, 6-3 win at fourth singles, and freshman Brooke Lopez ’24 (New City, NY) took the clincher with a 6-1, 6-3 win the fifth spot.

            Eliza Mulder ’23 (Schoonhoven, Netherlands) would push the match to 5-0 in favor of the visitors with a 6-4, 6-4 win at second singles before Daemen would get on the board with a win at the top slot.  Alba Guijo ’24 (Badajoz, Spain) would round out the scoring for the Spartans with a 6-0, 6-0 straight set win at sixth singles.

            The Spartans clinched the top seed in the ECC tournament, hosted by the Queens College Tennis Center, and will play on Saturday at 11 AM.  They await the winner of Friday’s semifinal matchup between host Queens College and Daemen College.

T-5/-UC St. Thomas Aquinas College 6, Daemen 1

Doubles

1.     Karina Blas/Samanta Villegas Robles (STAC) def. Frida Rubio/Tina Stasiuk (DC) – 6-4

2.     Viktoriia Pavlovets/Jemima Parkinson (STAC) def. Kayla Nguyen/Courtney Otis (DC) – 7-5

3.     Dauphine Donker/Flaminia Valci (STAC) def. MacKenzie Schayes/Hannah Pagano (DC) – 6-2

Order of Finish:     3, 1*, 2

Singles

1.     Frida Rubio (DC) def. Viktoriia Pavlovets (STAC) – 7-6 (3), 7-5

2.     Eliza Mulder (STAC) def. Tina Stasiuk (DC) – 6-4, 6-4

3.     Dauphine Donker (STAC) def. Kayla Nguyen (DC) – 6-2, 6-1

4.     Flaminia Valci (STAC) def. Courtney Otis (DC) – 6-1, 6-3

5.     Brooke Lopez (STAC) def. MacKenzie Schayes (DC) – 6-1, 6-3

6.     Alba Guijo (STAC) def. Hannah Pagano (DC) – 6-0, 6-0

Order of Finish:     3, 4, 5*, 2, 1, 6

T-5/UC STAC – 9-1 (5-1 ECC)

DC – 5-4 (3-2 ECC)