Release courtesy of Pratt Athletics
BROOKLYN, NY - Top-seeded Pratt Institute will vie for their sixth Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's tennis championship in seven seasons after beating No. 4 Berkeley College 8-1 in Tuesday night's semifinal at the ARC.
The tandem of Amanda Twu and Melanie Kania once again set the pace for the Cannoneers, earning an 8-0 victory in No. 1 doubles over Berkeley's Fanny Harling and Kyle Cruz. The Knights would forfeit second and third doubles, giving Pratt a 3-0 advantage heading into singles play.
Following a 10-4 loss in No. 1 singles, the Cannoneers responded, as Melanie Kaniashutout Cruz 10-0 to increase Pratt's lead to 4-1. Freshman Maia Schlusselcontinued her exceptional play as she downed Berkeley's Aileen Garcia 10-1. Berkeley would forfeit the last three singles flights, making the final 8-1 in favor of the Cannoneers.
With the win, Pratt advances to the HVIAC finals against the winner of No. 2 Vaughn and No. 3 College of New Rochelle. The Cannoneers earned 9-0 wins over both teams in regular season play.
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Release courtesy of Berkeley Athletics
The Berkeley College women's tennis team saw their 2017 come to an end Tuesday evening, as the No. 4 seeded Knights lost to the No. 1 seeded Cannoneers of Pratt Institute by a score of 8-1 in the semifinals of the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. With the defeat, Berkeley finalized its season at 0-6, while Pratt improved to 6-3 and advanced to the league championship. The Cannoneers will play either New Rochelle or Vaughn College for the crown this upcoming weekend.
Pratt Institute won all three doubles flights. The Cannoneers picked up an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles when Amanda Tuw and Melanie Kania defeated Fanny Harling and Kyle Cruz by a score of 8-0. Pratt captured the No's 2 and 3 doubles flights by default.
When play switched over to singles, the Cannoneers solidified wins in five of the six flights to account for the 8-1 final score. At No. 2 singles, Kania defeated Cruz by a score of 10-0, and it was Pratt's Maia Schlusell beating Berkeley's Aileen Garcia 10-1 at No. 3 singles. The Cannoneers also won the No's 4, 5, and 6 singles flights by default. The lone bright spot for the Knights came at No. 1 singles, as Harling downed Tuw, 10-4.
Berkeley College will look make another run at the second Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in its history when the 2018 season starts in mid September.
