Three Scarlet Knights Advance to Finals at Eastern Championships
Sep 14 | Women's Tennis
Senior co-captain Carissa Sommerlad (Bradley Beach, NJ), the top seed in the No. 4 singles bracket will face teammate freshman Ketevan Shmakova (Dover, NJ) in the final round on Sunday. Sommerlad and Shmakova each won two matches on Saturday to earn a berth in the final round. Sommerlad reached the finals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Massachusetts' Susan Hyams on Saturday. Earlier in the day, she beat Yana Tikhonko, 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinal round. Shmakova was a straight set winner over Colleen Willick of Niagra, 6-2, 7-5 before defeating Bucknell's Rheanna Gaskin, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, to force the face off with Sommerlad.
Third seeded junior Andrea Weckstein (Holmdel, NJ) reached the finals of the No. 3 bracket, posting a 6-4, 6-3 win over Danielle Rautenberg of Quinnipiac. Earlier, she beat Vernonica Apostu-Efrermon of LIU, 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Junior Kaitlin Link (Ontario/Toronto, Canada) defeated Monmouth's Danielle Brunelli, 6-1, 6-1, to reach the finals of the No. 2 singles consolation bracket. She will compete Sunday in the final round of the bracket. Senior co-captain Jennifer Hellier (Annapolis, MD) lost her quarterfinal match to sixth seeded Whitney Simcik of Connecticut, 6-4, 6-4.
In doubles competition, the team of sophomore Helen Magomedova (Brooklyn, NY) and freshman Alina Balasa (East Brunswick, NJ) earned two victories on the day to reach the final round of the top doubles bracket on Saturday. They will face top seeded doubles team of Megan Noble and Annie Collier of Army on Sunday. Third seeded Oksana Manoukian (Old Tappan, NJ) and Jill Markowitz (Forest Hills, NY) reached the semifinals of the No. 2 doubles bracket before falling to second seeded Cristina Lucin and Lauren Leftin of Army.
The Scarlet Knights wrap up play at the Eastern Collegiate Tennis Championships on Sunday with play beginning at 9 a.m.
