Results
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College's
Alena Marani and
Kristi Noecker claimed singles titles as the Blue Jays competed at the Middle Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Individual Championships over the weekend at the Kingston Indoor Tennis Center and at Kirby Park.
Marani won the flight five singles championship while Noecker captured the flight six singles crown for the Blue Jays, giving Elizabethtown its seventh and eighth conference singles titles since the tournament switched to a flighted format in 2004.
The Blue Jays also had four runner-up finishes in the tournament -
Allison Burkhardt at flight three singles,
Madison Pipkin at flight five singles, Burkhardt and Pipkin at flight two doubles and Marani and Noecker at flight three doubles.
Marani won four matches to claim her championship, defeating Laren Verret of Misericordia University 8-4 in the first round, Danielle Waldron of Manhattanville College 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, Michelle Knight of Wilkes University 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals and Lauren Breen of King's College 6-4, 6-1 in the finals.
Noecker, who received a first-round bye, downed Kristen Chen of Messiah College 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, Morgan Brady of Lebanon Valley College 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals and Anna Mitchell of Wilkes 6-3, 6-1 in the finals to finish her fall season with a 12-1 record.
Burkhardt advanced to the finals by edging Ashley Mangabang of Misericordia in a 10-5 tiebreaker in the quarterfinals after the players split the first two sets by identical 6-3 scores, then downing Lillian Snyder of Alvernia University 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals. However, she was defeated in the finals by Xiaoqiao Zhang by a 7-5, 6-2 score.
Pipkin's path to the finals began with an 8-1 win over Desiree Owle of Albright College in the first round, and continued with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Kaitlin Triano of Manhattanville in the quarterfinals. After defeating Lauren Fulmer of Lebanon Valley 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals, Pipkin lost 6-4, 6-1 to Alexis Donner of Wilkes in the finals.
In doubles, Burkhardt and Pipkin won 8-3 over Maura Haupt and Courtney Otto of Misericordia in the quarterfinals and 8-1 over Megan Gillespie and Beth Osipowitz of Arcadia University in the semifinals, but Donner and Zhang of Wilkes won 9-7 in the championship match.
Noecker and Marani opened doubles play with an 8-3 win over Melissa DeBello and Irina Samson of Arcadia in the quarterfinals, then downed Adriana River and Katie Walker of Lycoming College by an 8-1 score in the semifinals. In the finals, the Wilkes team of Knight and Rebekah Shanaman was an 8-3 winner.
In other action,
Emily Swarr competed at flight one singles and defeated Lauren Abate of FDU-Florham 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals but lost 7-6 (7-4), 6-1) to Sarah Grodzinski of Lebanon Valley in the semifinals.
Jess Russell played at flight two singles and posted an 8-0 win over Anna Berzins of Albright in the first round and 6-2, 6-3 over Arcadia's Gillespie in the quarterfinals before a 6-1, 6-1 loss to eventual champion Katrina Lynn of Wilkes in the semifinals.
Swarr and Russell also played at flight one doubles, where they won 8-2 over Christine Petrilla and Kate Steiner of DeSales University in the quarterfinals but fell 8-1 to the Wilkes tandem of Melanie Nolt and Lynn in the semifinals.