COLUMBIA, Md. - For the third time in the last four years, Albany and Stony Brook will meet for the America East women's tennis title after the two teams each won their semifinal matches Saturday at Wilde Lake Tennis Club. The top-seeded Great Danes knocked off fourth-seeded Binghamton, 4-0, and the second-seeded Seawolves ousted third-seeded UMBC, 4-0.
The championship match will take place Sunday at 12 p.m. with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Albany-Binghamton Recap
Albany advanced to the America East title match for the third time in four years with a 4-0 win over Binghamton Saturday. The match was delayed several hours due to rain.
Albany's top doubles tandem of Paulina Torres and Ana Glumac defeated Shea Brodsky and Alexis Tashiro, 6-2, to set the tone and the No. 2 team of Alba Sala and Isidora Pejovic clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win over Agatha Ambrozy and Olga Ostrovetsky.
Glumac, Sala and Torres accounted for the Great Danes' three singles wins as well. Glumac beat Ambrozy, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4 singles to earn Albany's first singles point and Sala followed shortly after with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Annie DiMuro at No. 2. Torres clinced the match with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback win over Brodsky at No. 3.
The Great Danes, winners of five in a row and 13-7 overall, will be seeking their first-ever women's tennis title Sunday.
Stony Brook-UMBC Recap
Stony Brook, the four-time reigning conference champion, advanced to its fifth-straight America East title match with its 4-0 win over UMBC Saturday.
The Seawolves won two of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point and took the first three singles contests via straight sets to seal the shutout win.
Nadia Smergut and Beck Shtilkind clinched the doubles point with a hard-fought 7-6 (9) win over Madlena Kurasz and Charlotte Tonjann.
The Seawolves, who improved to 10-6 on the season, dominated singles play with three wins at the top three spots.
Yana Nikolaeva beat Maria Siopacha, 6-3, 6-3, in the top pairing while Elizabeth Tsvetkov's 6-4, 6-3 victory at the No. 2 spot gave Stony Brook a 3-0 lead. Devanshi Bhimjiyani's 6-2, 6-3 win over Mariami Dolashvili at No. 3 clinched the match.
America East Women's Tennis Championship
Semifinals
Albany 4, Binghamton 0
Doubles:
1. Torres-Glumac (UA) def. Brodsky-Tashiro (BING) 6-2
2. Sala-Pejovic (UA) def. Ambrozy-Ostrovetsky (BING) 6-2 *
3. Kenic-King (UA) led DiMuro-Kohtz (BING), 5-4 - match not completed
Order of finish: 1,2
*Clinched doubles point for Albany
Singles:
1. Jovana Kenic (UA) led Sara Kohtz (BING) 6-1, 4-6, 4-3 (40-0) - match not completed
2. Alba Sala (UA) def. Annie DiMuro (BING) 6-1, 7-5
3. Paulina Torres (UA) def. Shea Brodsky (BING) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 $
4. Ana Glumac (UA) def. Agatha Ambrozy (BING) 6-4, 6-4
5. Alexis Tashiro (BING) led Isadora Pejovic (UA) 6-4, 2-6, 4-3 - match not completed
6. Olga Ostrovetsky (BING) led Chassidy King (UA) 6-1, 2-4 - match not completed
Order of finish: 4,2,3
$Clinched match for Albany
Stony Brook 4, UMBC 0
Doubles:
1. Cleary-Ambrozic (UMBC) def. Nikolaeva-Tsetkov (SBU) 7-6 (6)
2. Bhimjiyani-Badoche (SBU) def. Siopacha-Taylor (UMBC) 6-3
3. Smergut-Shtilkind (SBU) def. Kurasz-Tonjann (UMBC) 7-6 (8) *
Order of finish: 2,1,3
*Clinched doubles point for Stony Brook
Singles:
1. Yana Nikolaeva (SBU) def. Maria Siopacha (UMBC) 6-3, 6-3
2. Liz Tsvetkov (SBU) def. Madlena Kurasz (UMBC) 6-4, 6-3
3. Devanshi Bhimjiyani (SBU) def. Mariami Dolashvili (UMBC) 6-2, 6-3 $
4. Nadia Smergut (SBU) led Alice Taylor (UMBC) 7-6 (5), 2-3 - match not completed
5. Louise Badoche (SBU) led Shannon Cleary (UMBC) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 - match not completed
6. Laura Ambrozic (UMBC) led Becky Shtilkind (SBU) 7-5, 2-2 - match not completed
Order of finish: 1,2,3
$Clinched match for Stony Brook