Release courtesy of Pratt Athletics
BROOKLYN -- No. 1-seeded Pratt Institute will play for its fifth Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's tennis title in six seasons after besting No. 4 Berkeley College 9-0 Thursday night in league semifinals play at the Pratt ARC.
Reigning HVIAC Player of the Week Amanda Twu once again led the Cannoneers. The freshman earned a 10-4 win in top singles over Kate Zharkova and teamed with Melanie Kania for an 8-2 victory over Zharkova and Ken Geroux in No. 1 doubles.
Kania blanked Geroux 10-0 in second singles, while fellow sophomore Neeka Gilardian bested Marisol Munoz by the same score. In fourth singles, league Rookie of the Week Haddie Webster shut out Stephanie Tse 10-0.
Elsewhere, Gilardian combined with freshman Cory Marks for an 8-0 No. 2 doubles triumph over Munoz and Tse.
With the win, Pratt returns to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against the winner of No. 2 College of New Rochelle and No. 3 Vaughn College. The Cannoneers earned 9-0 wins over both teams in regular season play.
# # #
Release courtesy of Berkeley Athletics
The Berkeley College women's tennis team saw its bid for a 2016 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference crown come to an end on Wednesday evening as the Knights were defeated by the Cannoneers of Pratt Institute by a score of 9-0 at the Pratt ARC.
The No. 4 seeded Knights fell to 0-5 with the defeat, while the Cannoneers – who entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed – improved their record to 9-3 on the season. Pratt Institute will aim to win its fifth conference crown in six seasons on Saturday, as the Cannoneers will battle the No. 2 seeded College of New Rochelle for the league crown.
Amanda Twu paced Pratt Institute in this contest, earning a 10-4 victory over Berkeley College's Kate Zharkova at No. 1 singles. Twu also teamed with Melania Kania to defeat the Knights' combination of Zharkova and Jennifer Giroux by a score of 8-2 at No. 1 doubles.
Kania silenced Giroux 10-0 at the No. 2 singles flight, while Neeka Gilardian shut down Marisol Munoz by the same score at No. 3. In fourth singles, Haddie Webster turned back Stephanie Tse, 1-0. Additionally, Gilardian combined with Cory Marks for an 8-0 victory at No. 2 doubles, defeating Berkeley College's duo of Munoz and Tse.
Pratt Institute captured victories at No. 3 doubles, No. 5 singles, and No. 6 singles by default.
The Knights will close out their season on Tuesday evening, as Berkeley College will take on Yeshiva University at the Queens College Tennis Center. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 8:00pm.
