The women’s tennis team defeated Marywood Univeristy by a score of 5-4 in the semifinal round of the CSAC playoffs on Friday, Oct. 21. The Cavaliers then faced off against Gwynedd-Mercy College for the CSAC championship on Saturday, Oct. 22 and lost by a score of 5-3. The semifinal and final rounds were held in Easton, Pa., at Northwood Racquet and Fitness Club.
Katie Kennedy, sophomore communication major, won her singles matches against Marywood by identical 6-1 scores. Senior Michelle Lettmann, sophomore Adriana Scotto and sophomore Victoria Nastala also won their singles matches for the Cavs.
Marywood took two of the three doubles competitions. The team of Lettmann and Nastala won their match by a 9-8 score.
Alexis DiCamillo, senior human resource management major, fell short with a 2-6, 0-6 loss against Marywood.
With their previous loss against Marywood two weeks earlier, the team was very satisfied with the end result this time around.
As for the Gwynedd-Mercy match, the Cavaliers hoped they would be able to avoid their third loss in the CSAC final for the third time in the past four years. However, the Lady Cavs fell 5-3 as Gwynedd-Mercy claimed the CSAC title.
In singles play, Kennedy, who played in the No. 1 spot, fell short to Rachel Fein of the Griffins. Gwynedd-Mercy would end up taking four of the six singles matches with the Cavaliers.
The team of Nastala and Lettmann defeated Chelsea Jones and Caroline Lockwood by a score of 8-6.
Gwynedd and Cabrini were tied 3-3 when the Griffins took advantage of Cabrini. Cabrini freshman Samantha Trumbo lost her match 6-1, 6-4 and DiCamillo fell 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in her singles match against Jessica Scarpello. The Griffins took home the title after Scarpello’s victory.
“It was upsetting to lose but we made it to the finals. Second place is not bad for being underdogs in the tournament,” Kennedy said.
While the game ended the Cavaliers’ season, Lettmann and DiCamillo both saw their collegiate tennis careers come to an end as well.
Lettmann finished her four-year career with a 50-19 singles record while DiCamillo recorded 47 career singles victories. Despite leaving tennis behind, DiCamillo still enjoyed her final season with the Cavaliers and expressed a lot of pride in her teammates.
“Our season as a whole was amazing,” DiCamillo said. ““I am so lucky to have been a part of this year’s team. Those girls made my senior year the best ever.”
“We will be losing two very strong seniors for next year,” Kennedy said. “Hopefully our coach can find some good recruits but no one can replace Alexis and Michelle.”
Cabrini finished the 2011 season with an overall record of 13-3 as well as a CSAC record of 8-2.
