POMFRET, Conn. (Oct. 5) – The Nichols College women's tennis team locked up the number one seed in the The Commonwealth Coast Conference postseason tournament Tuesday afternoon with a 6-1 victory over Western New England College in a conference match played at the Pomfret School. Nichols improves to 11-1 overall and 10-0 in TCCC action. Western New England dips to 4-7 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
The Bison's top doubles tandem of Jillian McQuiggan (Weymouth, Mass.) and Chelsey Miller (Salem, Conn.) rallied from down, 4-7, before defeating Nicole DeSimone and Caitlin Hughes, 9-8 (7-4), to complete the doubles sweep.
First year Anna Dyakiv (Amsterdam, N.Y.) kept her sterling singles record intact with Nichols' first point on the side, a 6-2, 6-2 win over DeSimone. Senior Maria Balabanova (Moscow, Russia) clinched the match at fifth singles in a 6-4, 6-4 win against Jessica Haffner and Megan Woodruff (Morris, Conn.) added a 7-5, 6-1 win at the sixth flight over Ashley Czelatka.
Alexandra Cifone (Bristol, Conn.) fought off six match points at third singles before succumbing to Hughes by a 6-3, 7-5 score for the Golden Bears' lone point.
Nichols takes a break from TCCC action to host Worcester State Wednesday at 4 p.m. before finishing the regular season Saturday in a 1 p.m. match at Eastern Nazarene. Western New England hosts MCLA Thursday at 3 p.m. before its final conference match Saturday at Anna Maria.
Tennis Match Results
Western New England College vs Nichols
10/05/10 at Pomfret, Conn.
(Pomfret School)
Nichols 6, Western New England College 1
Singles competition
1. Anna Dyakiv (NC) def. Nicole DeSimone (WNEC) 6-2, 6-2
3. Caitlin Hughes (WNEC) def. Alexandra Cifone (NC) 6-3, 7-5
5. Maria Balabanova (NC) def. Jessica Haffner (WNEC) 6-4, 6-4
6. Megan Woodruff (NC) def. Ashley Czelatka (WNEC) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Jillian McQuiggan/Chelsey Miller (NC) def. Nicole DeSimone/Caitlin Hughes (WNEC) 9-8 (7-4)
2. Maria Balabanova/Anna Dyakiv (NC) def. Christina Barbarisi/Linda Mustafa (WNEC) 8-1
3. Megan Woodruff/Alexandra Cifone (NC) def. Jessica Haffner/Ashley Czelatka (WNEC) 8-3
Match Notes:
Western New England College 4-7, 4-6
Nichols 11-1, 10-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,5,6,3)
Official: William Wilson
