Women Netters Win Ninth Straight America East Team Title
April 27, 2003 | Women's Tennis
Junior Lindsey Dynof (Colts Neck, NJ) was named the America East Women's Tennis Tournament's Most Outstanding Performer as she helped lead the top-seeded Terriers to to a 4-1 win over second-seeded Binghamton on Sunday (April 26th) in the title match of the Conference's annual tournament that was played at the Connecticut Tennis Center in New Haven, CT.
It was the ninth straight year, and the 14th time in the 15 years the Conference has conducted a women's tennis tournament that B.U. had won the team title.
With the victory, the Terriers will earn the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This will mark the fifth straight visit to the national tournament for the Terriers, and they will learn on Wednesday (April 30th) where and who they will play.
This was the first time the Terriers and Bearcats had ever met in women's tennis action. What's more, this was the first time Binghamton had participated in the America East Women's Tournament.
| Championship Match Recap |
The Terriers found themselves in a unique position at the Conference tournament, as they had to come from behind to capture the team title. The match opened with Binghamton winning two of the three doubles matches and thereby coming away with the point, as the Bearcats led 1-0 entering the singles matches.
The Terriers' win in doubles came at number one where junior Elena deMendoza (Madrid, Spain) and freshman Laura Ahmes (East Sarasota, FL), defeated Justina Hakimi and Alexis Brill, 8-6. At number two, Janine Sadaka and Amy Weissberg bested Dynof and freshman Aimee Charest (Somerset), 8-5, while Kristin Jobe and Amy Linda needed a pro set to defeat senior captain Alana Marcu (Leonia, NJ) and junior Elisa Glas (Irun, Spain), 9-8 (7-5).
The Terriers bounced back in the singles winning the first four completed matches to assure themselves of the win. As a result, the final two singles matches were not played to a conclusion.
The singles matches were also hotly contested as five of the six went to three sets, and the Terriers won three of the five. The other two were in matches that were not concluded.
The only singles match that was decided in straight sets was at number six where Charest beat Linda, 6-1, 6-1. At number two, deMendoza won the first set over Sadaka, 6-4, but then lost the second set by the identical score. In the third, and deciding set, deMendoza posted a 6-3 win. At number four singles, Marcu lost the first set, 6-4, to Brill but bounced back with identical 6-1, 6-1 victories. As was the case with Marcu, Glas lost her first set at number five singles to Jobe, 6-1. But, Glas came back to win the next two sets, 6-4, 6-1, to provide the Terriers with their fourth and deciding point.
The two matches that were not concluded were at numbers one and three singles. At number one, Hakimi led Dynot, 6-2, 5-7, 4-3, while Ahmes led Weissberg, 3-6, 7-5, 4-1 at three.
"This was an emotional win for us," said Terrier head coach Lesley Sheehan. "This was the toughest match we have had at the America East Tournament. Binghamton has a very good team and we had to come back after losing the doubles point. Then, in a couple of the singles matches, we lost the first set but had to battle back to win the match.
"I was very proud of how our women came back," said the coach.
In addition to Dynof, deMendoza, Ahmes, Marcu, Glas, and Charest were named to the All-Conference team.
| Semifinal Match Recap |
The Terriers advanced to their title match against Binghamton with a 4-0 win over fourth-seeded Stony Brook on Saturday (April 26th). Stony Brook advanced to the semifinals by virtue of a 4-1 win over fifth-seeded Vermont on Friday.
In Saturday's match vs. Stony Brook, the Terriers swept to wins at the top four singles' spots and, since the team score had already been determined, there was no need to conclude either the fifth or sixth singles matches or the doubles competition.
At number one singles, Dynof lost the first set, 6-1, but came back to win the next two sets, 6-2, 6-1 over Anne Catherine Valle. At number two singles, deMendoza beat Patricia Gomez, 6-2, 7-5, while Ahmes had a straight set victory over Karen Hansen, 6-3, 6-1, at number three. Finally, at number four, Marcu had the easiest match of the day with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Georgia Bushell. The matches at fifth and sixth singles were halted due to the team score having been decided. In those matches, Glas led Claire Shean 6-3, 4-1, while Charest led Lauren Conching 6-2, 3-0 at fifth and sixth singles, respectively.
