STAC Women's Tennis Advances Third Straight ECC Championship Final With 4-0 Victory Over UDC

Posted: Oct 25, 2024

Flushing, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Tennis team advanced to its third straight East Coast Conference Tournament Final with a 4-0 shutout victory over the University of the District of Columbia in the semifinal round on Friday morning at the Queens College Tennis Bubble.

STAC improves to 7-1 on the year, while UDC closes its 2024 fall campaign at 6-3.

St. Thomas Aquinas began the morning by taking two of three doubles matches, as Mar Caneves Bufi & Elise Semmartin blanked Lina Benjalloun & Nadja Zmukic, 6-0 at No. 3 to set the tempo. UDC tied things with No. 1 Desire Parn & Polina Zelentsova besting Courtney Fyvie & Elita Silins, 6-2. The team of Anaya Brons & Kateryna Kryuchkova would then clinch the all important point for the maroon and gold with a 6-2 triumph over Celia Bastin & Claudia Bahamon Lopez at the No. 2 position.

The Spartans then quickly looked to finish the contest, with Courtney Fyvie winning via retirement at No. 3; 6-1, 4-2 over Claudia Bahamon Lopez, Ombeline Robilliart beating Nadja Zmukic 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 and Kateryna Kryuchkova taking a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at the No. 5 position against Lina Benjelloun to end the semifinal match and eliminate UDC.

STAC 4/UDC 0 - OFFICIAL RESULTS

DOUBLES
1. Desire Parn & Polina Zelentsova (UDC) def. Courtney Fyvie & Elita Silins (STAC), 6-2

2. Anaya Brons & Kateryna Kryuchkova (STAC) def. Celia Bastin & Claudia Bahamon Lopez (UDC), 6-2

3. Mar Caneves Bufi & Elise Semmartin (STAC) def. Lina Benjelloun & Nadja Zmukic (UDC), 6-0

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*

SINGLES
1. Anaya Brons (STAC) vs. Desire Parn (UDC) 6-1, 4-4 (Unfinished)

2. Elita Silins (STAC) vs. Polina Zelentsova (UDC) 6-3, 3-5 (Unfinished)

3. Courtney Fyvie (STAC) def. Claudia Bahamon Lopez (UDC) 6-1, 4-2 (Retired)

4. Elise Semmartin (STAC) vs. Celia Bastin (UDC) 6-3, 4-3 (Unfinished)

5. Kateryna Kryuchkova (STAC) def. Lina Benjelloun (UDC) 6-2, 6-4

6. Ombeline Robilliart (STAC) def. Nadja Zmukic (UDC) 6-0, 6-1

Order of finish: 3, 6, 5*

UDC Record: 6-3, 4-1 ECC

STAC Record: 7-1, 4-1 ECC

THE ROCKHILL REPORT

"We are very pleased with today's win and to have earned a spot in the championship match tomorrow," said Head Coach Dan Rockhill. "We were obviously aware of how good UDC is and knew that we would need to play at a high level if we wanted to advance."

"We made some adjustments in practice this week that helped us. I continue to appreciate the team's trust and willingness to try new things. It was rewarding to see them implement strategies that aided our collective cause."

"With Queens now defeating Daemen in the other semifinal, we get our opportunity to play the best team in the region for the title," stated Rockhill. "Queens has a dozen or so great players that have tremendous experience. We expect a tough battle again but I really like our team."

UP NEXT

#2 St. Thomas Aquinas takes on the top seed and hosts, Queens College in the ECC Women's Tennis Championship Tournament Final on Saturday (October 26) at 5:00 p.m. Queens defeated #4 Daemen University, 4-0 in the second semifinal matchup on Friday. The Spartans are looking to repeat as tournament champions, and earn their third conference crown in as many seasons.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP

In regular season action, the Knights defeated the Spartans 6-1 on October 19 at the QC Tennis Bubble. Queens opened play by taking all three doubles matches, with No. 3 Sakura Saito & Kyra Bergmann downing Mar Caneves Bufi & Elise Semmartin, 6-1, followed by No. 1 Saga Berggren & Maja Makal defeating Courtney Fyvie & Elita Silins, 7-5. No. 2 Eva Rivoal & Apolline Lamy close out pairs play with a 6-4 triumph over Kateryna Kryuchkova & Anaya Brons.

In singles action, the Knights moved quickly to end the match, winning five of six bouts to take the team victory. No. 6 Regina Ruiz bested Mar Caneves Bufi 6-0, 6-4 and No. 5 Apolline Lamy beat Kateryna Kryuchkova 6-0, 6-2 to hold a commanding 3-0 lead. The hosts then clinched the win with a 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2, as Caroline Hany-Fawzy dispatched Elita Silins. No. 3 Maja Makal also defeated Elise Semmartin, 6-0, 6-4, before STAC finally broke the shutout streak with No. 1 Anaya Brons taking a 7-5, 6-4 win against Eva Rivoal. Saga Berggren wrapped up the day's events with a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (8) triumph over Ombeline Robilliart at No. 4.