Flushing, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Tennis team captured its first-ever ECC Championship in program history, with a 4-0 shutout victory over Queens College, in the finals of the East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Queens College Tennis Center.
STAC remains perfect on the season at 10-0 and looks to secure a bid in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Tournament, which will take place in May 2023.
The Spartans opened Championship Saturday winning 2-of-3 matches in doubles play to take the first team point. The duo of Ebba Rosberg and Samanta Villegas Robles got things started by taking down Maja Makal and Gabriela Sciarrotta, 6-4. Queens evened things, when Ana Tarbujaru and Apolline Lamy defeated Jemima Parkinson and Elita Silins, 6-4. STAC clinched the pairs portion of the afternoon, when Paula Palero and Eliza Mulder dispatched Rea Hagishima and Chloe Certain, 6-4.
St. Thomas Aquinas jumped out 2-0 advantage to begin singles play, as Elita Silins defeated Chloe Certain 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 6 position. Teammate Samanta Villegas Robles was next to register a victory, with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph over Gabriela Sciarrotta at the No. 4 slot, to push the host Knights to the brink of elimination. The final knockout punch came via freshman Amaia Balaguer Brau at the No. 5 spot when she took down Ana Tarbujaru 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to seal the deal and send the entire STAC squad to a joyous celebration.
STAC 4/ QUEENS 0 - OFFICIAL RESULTS
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
SINGLES
"This is a truly wonderful feeling", said Head Coach Dan Rockhill. "I am so happy for our team and proud of their effort as they really played well today. They were able to rise to the occasion and defeat a really good Queens team. Coach Nagel's team brought out the best in us today and we needed to play our very best to win the championship. I am also grateful to our coaching staff (Neil Tarangioli and Mike Tasaro) as they are the absolute best and none of this happens without them."
"Although winning this championship was a total team effort, Samy really stood out today. Her opponent always brings a high level and plays with fire so for Samy to come away with a convincing win at #4 singles was a huge lift for the team. I was also impressed with Elita and Amaia as they both were able to maintain laser focus and did not give many free points to their opponents."
"I appreciate the trust of the team as we have done things a little differently", remarked Rockhill. "It has been a very special few days with them and a life experience I will not soon forget. I look forward to working hard going forward, which is the cornerstone of our ethos, so as to have an even better spring season."