VESTAL, N.Y. – Stony Brook defeated Albany 4-0 to win their fourth consecutive America East women’s tennis championship. The Seawolves controlled the action from the beginning, winning the doubles point, and then securing the No. 5, No. 4, and No. 2 singles matches to clinch the continuance of their conference reign.
In doubles, the freshmen duo of Kristina Vozniak and Elizabeth Tsvetkov defeated Albany’s Mireille Hermans and Dajana Ognjenovic 8-3 in the No. 3 doubles match. Soon after, Sophomore Nadia Smergut and junior Louise Badoche secured the opening point for SBU in No. 1 doubles against Paulina Torres and Kirsten Scott, 8-4.
Tsvetkov continued her fantastic play in the championship in singles, taking down Albany freshman Ana Glumac in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2 in No. 5 singles. Sophomore Adey Osabuohein continued the Seawolves momentum, dumping Great Dane senior Cheryl Kukkonen in sweeping 6-0, 6-1 fashion.
The championship clinching point came from the racket of freshman Kristina Vozniak in No. 2 singles. Taking the final set in six games, Vozniak bested Hermans in straight sets, in effect, garnering a fourth straight America East title for Stony Brook.
This is the second time in three seasons that Stony Brook bested Albany in the conference championship, both times by a score of 4-0. The Seawolves have won four straight America East titles; before their dominance, they had not appeared in the championship match since 2001 against Boston University.
Polina Movchan was named the 2015 America East Women’s Tennis Championship’s Most Outstanding Performer. This is the second straight year that the senior has been the honored recipient.
The inaugural Elite 18 award winner for women’s tennis was Stony Brook senior Cassandra Dix. She has a 4.00 GPA and is a biochemistry major. The Elite 18 award is given to a student exemplifying excellence in both sport and in the classroom.
Stony Brook will find out their position in the NCAA tournament on Tuesday, April 28th, at 5 P.M.
RESULTS
Championship: No. 1 Stony Brook 4, No. 3 Albany 0
Doubles order of finish: 3,1
Smergut/Badoche, Stony Brook def. Scott/Torres, Albany 8-4
Movchan/Nikolaeva, Stony Brook led Kukkonen/Sala, Albany 7-4 DNF
Vozniak/Tsvetkov, Stony Brook def. Hermans/Ognjenovic, Albany 8-3
Singles order of finish: 5,4,2
Movchan, Stony Brook led Ognjenovic, Albany 6-1, 5-3 DNF
Vozniak, Stony Brook def. Hermans, Albany 2-0 (6-4, 6-0)
Smergut, Stony Brook led Sala, Albany 7-5, 4-2 DNF
Osabuohien, Stony Brook def. Kukkonen, Albany 2-0 (6-0, 6-1)
Tsvetkov, Stony Brook def. Glumac, Albany 2-0 (6-0, 6-2)
Torres, Binghamton led Badoche, Stony Brook 6-0, 3-5 DNF