Sparkill, N.Y. – The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Tennis team will make its fourth appearance in the last five seasons in East Coast Conference Championship Tournament. Sixth-year Head Coach Matt Capell and his second-seeded Spartans are set to take on third-seeded and tournament hosts, Queens College in a semifinal match on Friday.
When and Where: Friday, October 29 at 2pm from the Queens College Tennis Courts in Flushing, New York. At this time, Queens College will permit two spectators per participating team member at the semifinal matchup. Only fully-vaccinated spectators will be allowed entry onto Queens College's campus. Fans not able to view the tournament in person, can watch LIVE on the ECC Network.
Postseason History: St. Thomas Aquinas has had recent success in the ECC tournament, having reached the final in the Spring of 2021 (2020-21 season moved to Spring due to COVID-19 pandemic), before falling to Queens College in the championship match, 4-0.
Season Series: During the Fall 2021 Season, STAC defeated Queens 5-2 in a matchup at the Riley Family Tennis Courts on October 15. The victory would be the team's sixth consecutive triumph on the way to a nine match winning streak (10 unbeaten) to end the regular season. Meeting for the second time in just two weeks, the Spartans will be seeking to dethrone the defending back-to-back champions.
Leading the Way: STAC earned the second-seed in the tournament after finishing the regular-season with a 9-1 overall record and a 4-1 ECC mark. The Spartans will lean on the leadership of East Coast Conference Players of the Week Samanta Villegas Robles (9-1 Doubles & 5-2 Singles) and Viktoriia Pavlovets (4-2 Doubles & 5-5 Singles) and three-time ECC Rookie of the Week, Elita Silins (9-2 Doubles & 8-0 Singles). Karina Blas (4-6 Doubles & 8-2 Singles), Paula Palero (4-0 Doubles & 2-1 Singles), Eliza Mulder (5-0 Doubles & 4-2 Singles), Giovanna Jallas (2-0 Doubles & 6-1 Singles), Jemima Parkinson (3-0 Doubles & 0-3 Singles), Vera Gak Anagrova (4-4 Doubles & 5-0 Singles), Ayesha Burnett (5-0 Doubles & 1-0 Singles), Flaminia Maria Valci (1-0 Doubles & 3-1 Singles) and Alba Guijo (1-0 Singles) round out the athletes who have been called upon to play this season.
And Then There Were Four: The first semifinal matchup of the 2021 East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Championship Tournament on Friday are No. 4 Daemen College Wildcats taking on the top-seeded University of the District of Columbia Firebirds at 11am. The winners of Friday's semifinals will square off in the East Coast Conference finals Saturday (October 30) hosted by Queens College. The winner of the tournament will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship, which will be held May 17-21, 2022 in Altamonte Springs, Florida.