SAINTS COMPETE IN SALVE REGINA DOUBLES TOURNAMENT

Oct. 4, 2009

NEWPORT, R.I. - The 2009 Salve Regina University Women's Grass Court Doubles did not live up to its name in terms of playing surface, but the event nonetheless featured an outstanding draw with first-time participant Wesleyan University taking the championship with 16 points. The historic grass courts at the Tennis Hall of Fame got washed out from Saturday's heavy rainfall, forcing the event to be held on hard courts at the Newport Casino and the campus of the host institution, Salve Regina University.

Seven schools competed in three flights of doubles. The early rounds of Flight B were held at the indoor courts at the Newport Casino, while the early rounds of Flights A and C were staged at Leroy Avenue tennis courts. Featuring a full main and consolation draw in each flight, the finals were contested on the six hard courts on the Seahawk campus.

"Let's give credit to the players and coaches for enduring the frustrations of the weather conditions these last two years," said Salve Regina head coach and tournament director Ed Habershaw. "Everybody came with great attitudes as we prepared for a long day of indoor tennis. Then the skies cleared and the sun appeared and I had no problem listening to my senior captain, Jessica Timpano (Narragansett, R.I.), when she suggested we make use of our on-campus courts."

Wesleyan pairs reached the finals of all three flights. At Flight C, junior Linda McDougal (Katmandu, Nepal) and senior Casey Simchik (Rye, N.H.) defeated Salve Regina sophomore Gina DeMaio (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) and junior Elise Jones (Pittsfield, Mass.).

At Flight B, freshman Genevieve Aniello (Hadley, Mass.) and senior Meredith Holmes (Ivy, Va.) survived a furious rally from Stonehill College sophomores Bacall Brooks (York, Maine) and Leah White (Walpole, Mass.). The Skyhawks had trailed 6-1 before winning four straight; the Cardinals held on for an 8-5 win

A Stonehill duo in Flight A won the last three games to take the flight championship away from Wesleyan, 9-7. Senior Samantha Dircks (Stony Brook, N.Y.) and sophomore Amy Toegemann (Narragansett, R.I.) staged the dramatic rally against senior Anika Fisher (New York, N.Y.) and sophomore Sarah Miller (Milton, Mass.). Stonehill earned tournament runner-up award with 12 points while Holy Cross and Salve Regina shared third place with six points apiece.

In Flight A for Emmanuel, Nory Hayes (Newport, R.I.), playing in her hometown, and freshman Taylor Dey (Northbridge, Conn.) fell to the host Salve Regina tandem of Erin Phillips and Jessica Timpano. Hayes and Dey rebounded to defeat Roger Williams University’s Caitlin Osepchuk and Leah Ribchinsky in an exciting 9-8 victory with a 10-8 win in the tie-breaker. The Saints then fell to Carolyn Chandley and Kristen Meahl as Division I Holy Cross team prevailed, 8-2.

In Flight B, the junior pairing of Megan Harrington (Leceister, Mass.) and Alexandra Shakra (Bedford, N.H.) fell hard to the tournament champion Wesleyan University team, 8-0. The Saints then dropped to Assumptions College’s Marissa Charles and Erica Micciche, 8-2, in the consolation match.

In Flight C, Emmanuel juniors Taylor Kelly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Brianna Murphy (Wilbraham, Mass.) split their matches. They opened with a heart-breaking loss to Salve Regina’s Gina DeMaio and Elise Jones, 9-8 (7-2). The duo then rallied to smoke a Seahawk tandem of Erin Henriksen and Leeanne Soprano, 8-0.

Team results (pts):

1. Wesleyan (16)

2. Stonehill (12)

3. Holy Cross (6)

    Salve Regina (6)

5. Emmanuel (3)

6. Assumption (2)

    Roger Williams (2)

Courtesy of Salve Regina University Sports Information