Women’s Tennis Reaches First-Ever GNAC Final with 5-2 Victory over Regis
WINCHESTER, Mass.- The No. 2 seed Eastern Nazarene College women's tennis team topped third-seed Regis 5-2 Saturday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament semifinals at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center.
The Lions improve to 11-2 and advance to their first-ever GNAC Tournament championship match Sunday against top-seeded Johnson & Wales at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center. The Pride finished the fall with a 9-3 overall record.
Eastern Nazarene established a 2-1 lead after posting a pair of doubles victories.
Emily Ruttkowski (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany) and Magdalena Hubel (Berlin, Germany) downed Carly Donovan and Ariana McCormack 8-4 at the No. 1 doubles spot.
Sharon Biondi (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and Veronica Jimenez (Lynn, Mass.) rolled past Ginger Boodakian and Katelyn Mogelnicki at the No. 2 position 8-2.
Makayla Grantham (Apalachian, N.Y.) and Maria Busila (Malaga, Spain) dropped a narrow 8-7 decision at the third slot against Lauren Mogelnicki and Kaitlyn Colby.
The Lions notched three singles victories to secure the win and advance to Sunday's GNAC Finals.
Busila cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory at the No. 5 singles position before Biondi captured a 6-3, 6-1 win at the No. 1 spot over Donovan.
Ruttkowski improved to 12-0 in singles action as she clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over McCormack at the No. 2 slot.
Grantham absorbed a 6-0, 6-1 loss at the sixth position to Kaeleigh FitzPatrick.
When the match was decided, Hubel and Jimenez were in the second sets at the third and fourth singles spots, respectively.
Eastern Nazarene will return to the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center October 20 to face top-seeded Johnson & Wales in the GNAC Tournament Finals at 12:30pm.