Women's Tennis: Little East Fall Championship Central
LITTLE EAST FALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
PAWTUCKET, R.I. – After completing regular season conference play with an unbeaten record, Rhode Island College claimed the Regular Season title and No. 1 seed for the 2015 Little East Conference Women's Tennis Championship with a 9-0 win over Salem State on Saturday. The Anchorwomen receive top billing for the first time and are seeking the program's first LEC title since the inception of the tournament format in 2008.
With a 7-1 league record, Bridgewater State clinched the No. 2 seed after closing the regular season with a 9-0 victory over Southern Maine on Saturday. The No. 3 seed was earned by defending LEC Champion Plymouth State, who will look to defend its title after going 6-2 during the season.
The Anchorwomen enter the Tournament sitting at 12-2 and rode a 10-match win streak longer than a month, from Sept. 3 to Oct. 13. Seniors Sadie Campanella (Chepachet, R.I.) and Tressa Cannata (Cranston, R.I.) pace their squad with unbeaten singles records in LEC competition, with Campanella topping the No. 2 flight and Cannata the No. 4 slot. Cannata also reigns supreme on the entirety of the season thus far at her flight, sitting at 13-0. A key addition for head coach Adam Spring this fall has been sophomore Dayna Reilly (Swansea, Mass.), a transfer from Endicott, who has made an immediate impact by taking over the No. 1 singles flight and posted a 7-1 record through league play. She and junior Julie Reddy (Smithfield, R.I.) also claimed a spotless record at No. 1 doubles, sweeping their LEC opponents on the regular season. Completing the regular singles lineup for RIC are sophomore Laura Nastasi (Smithfield, N.J.) and junior Jorgie Martin (Greenville, R.I.), who posted 8-3 and 6-3 marks, respectively, at their flights so far this year.
Bridgewater State, with its 9-5 overall slate, claims the No. 2 seed and a first-round tournament bye along with RIC. The Bears dropped a hard-fought 5-4 match to RIC on Friday, and look to secure their third LEC Tournament title in the past four years this week. Head coach John Nestel's squad is led by senior Alison Vautrin (Somerset, Mass.) at the top singles flight with a 5-9 record on the year. A bright newcomer for BSU has been freshman Hayley Anderson (San Antonio, Texas), who at the No. 3 flight has been the LEC's top performer through the regular season with an unbeaten league slate and 9-5 mark overall. The top doubles pair for the Bears this season has been sophomore duo Alison Scagnelli (Sutton, Mass.) and Bojana Roman (Somerset, Mass.), who are undefeated at No. 3 on league play; additionally, Roman is 8-0 at No. 6 singles while Scagnelli sits at 6-1 at No. 5.
Plymouth State will enter the bracket as the No. 3 seed and look to defend as the 2014 Champions. Under head coach Barb Rawlsky-Willett, the Panthers complete the 2015 regular season at 6-2 (8-5 overall) after falling to RIC and BSU. No. 1 singles player Zara Jakubas (Califon, N.J), the defending LEC Player and Rookie of the Year, registered her second-consecutive unbeaten conference season at the top slot. Sister Sunny Jakubas (Califon, N.J.) also continued to be a mainstay for PSU as a sophomore this year, recording a 7-1 record at No. 2 singles. Additonally, Sunny and doubles partner Rachel Gustafson (Belchertown, Mass.) sit 7-0 for the Panthers at No. 2 doubles.
Rhode Island College and Bridgewater State will receive byes in Tuesday, Oct. 20's quarterfinal round and will serve as hosts for Thursday, Oct. 22's semifinals. PSU will host No. 6 Worcester State (3-5 LEC, 5-9 overall) in the quarterfinals. The second quarterfinal will feature No. 4 seed UMass Dartmouth (5-3 LEC, 8-6 overall) hosting No. 5 UMass Boston, which set a program record for league wins this year at 4-4 (6-6 overall).
The winner of the 2015 Little East Women's Tennis Championship will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship, to be held next spring.
Little East Conference
2015 Women's Tennis Championship
Tuesday, October 20 – Quarterfinals
GAME 1: No. 5 UMass Boston at No. 4 UMass Dartmouth
GAME 2: No. 6 Worcester State at No. 3 Plymouth State
Thursday October 22 – Semifinals
GAME 3: Winner Game 1 at No. 1 Rhode Island College
GAME 4: Winner Game 2 at No. 2 Bridgewater State
Saturday, October 24 – Championship at higher seed
GAME 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Release Courtesy of Megan Erbes, Little East Conference