Leading 3-2 in its first-ever Northeast-10 Championship match, the No. 2 seeded Adelphi University women’s tennis team dropped three marathon three-setters to fall in a thrilling 5-3 NE-10 final to the top-seeded Merrimack College Warriors Sunday afternoon. While the Panthers were looking for their first NE-10 Tournament title, the Warriors secured their first Northeast-10 title since 2002 and improves to 15-4 on the season. With the loss, the Brown and Gold drops to 13-6 overall.
“It was an extremely difficult loss for us as the match literally came down to just a few points,” Head Coach Michael Misiti said. “Merrimack were very much deserving of the conference title and they showed a lot of guts to pull through this final. I am immensely proud of my players as they gave everything they had – physically, mentally, and emotionally. This was an amazing group and we were all very much together and focused on our goals this season, which came up a bit short. We all shared the process, improved and worked toward getting to the final, which is something we will all remember.”
The host Warriors struck first as Kara Hole and Chelasey Giatrelis eased to an 8-3 victory over Jennifer Ferguson and Taylor King at No. 2 doubles. However, just as they had during the regular season meeting between the two teams, Adelphi took a 2-1 lead behind wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Gaby Adia and Joanna Haich tied the match at 1-1 with an 8-3 victory at third flight, while Charlotte Moreau and Katarina Barborikova defeated the Messina sisters at top flight, 8-4, to put Adelphi in front.
Shakee Messina tied things up for the home team as she defeated Haich, 7-5, 6-0, at No. 3 singles for the first completed result in solo play. Shortly after, however, Ferguson put her team back in the lead as the freshman recorded a straight sets win over Alyx Barnes.
The No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches proved to be the keys in the match, as both Adia and King found themselves in tough three setters against their opponents. However, it was Merrimack who captured both wins to take a 4-3 lead. Muller tied the match at 3-3 as the junior captured a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win over King despite losing the opening set, while Hole defeated Adia at No. 4, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-2, to give the Warriors the lead, 4-3.
The top two singles flights took to the court to decide the match, and it was Northeast-10 Player and Rookie of the Year Grace Messina who delivered the winning point for the Warriors. With both No. 1 and No. 2 singles in third sets, it was Messina who defeated Moreau, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to clinch Merrimack’s first NE-10 title in over a decade.
Adia and Ferguson were named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts, along with Hole, Messina and Muller from Merrimack, Diana Vamvakitis from Southern New Hampshire and Kaitlyn Martin from Stonehill. Hole was also named Most Valuable Player for her play in the final match.
Softball
The Adelphi University softball squad picked up a Sunday afternoon split with non-conference opponent Queens at Janet L. Ficke Field. Queens won the opener 6-4 in nine innings, followed by a 3-2 decision for the Brown and Gold.
The Panthers finish the regular season 26-17 overall while the Knights sit at 31-15.
Adelphi University clinched a No. 2 seed in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship, being held this week at New Haven.
The Brown and Gold grabbed a 2-0 in the first inning of game two as junior infielder Victoria Wink and freshman infielder Danielle Cutuli touched home on a dropped fly ball. The lead grew to 3-0 in the next inning with junior outfielder Jaclyn Binstock driving in junior catcher Mary O’Reilly with a sacrifice fly.
Queens drew its first run in the third as senior outfielder Cat Pastor came in on a sacrifice fly from junior pitcher Monique Roberge. However, Adelphi earned that run back in the fifth as Wink again scored on a fielding error to make it 4-1.
The Knights went into the final frame thinking rally and did that with three runs in the top of the seventh inning to force extras. Roberge picked up another RBI in the inning along with freshman infielder Kayla Morrissey. Senior outfielder Melissa Natale scored the tying run on a fielding error.
Roberge was again front and center for Queens in extra innings, driving in the go ahead run with a double in the ninth inning. Morrissey brought Roberge in with a single up the middle to give Queens a 6-4 lead that held up for the victory.
Roberge also earned the victory from the circle with 9.0 innings pitched behind seven strikeouts and just one earned run.
Starting where she left off in the opener, Roberge gave Queens an early 2-0 lead in game two with a two-run home run to right center in the first. However, senior pitcher Katie Andrews quickly responded for the Panthers in the bottom half with a single to right center that drove in two runs.
Andrews again came through for the Brown and Gold with a RBI single in the third to score Cutuli and give the Panthers a 3-2 lead, the eventual final.
Freshman pitcher Lindsays Mapes improved her record to 9-9 with a complete game, seven strikeout performance.
Men’s Lacrosse
After going a perfect 11-0 in league play, Adelphi University (14-1, 11-0 NE-10) has earned the top seed in the upcoming 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship. The Panthers, who clinched the regular-season title, also earned a first-round bye and will play in a semifinal contest on Friday, May 2.
This is the second straight regular season crown for the Panthers, who posted a record of 10-1 in 2013, sharing the Northeast-10 Championship with Merrimack last season. Le Moyne College (13-1, 10-1 NE-10) earned the No. 2 seed and also received a first-round bye into the Northeast-10 Championship semifinals on Friday.
