LONGMEADOW, Mass. - The second-seeeded Bay Path College Wildcats defeated third-seeded Lesley University 5-4 today in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's tennis semi-final action. Bay Path will travel to the top seed Regis College Saturday to vie for the title with a 1:00 p.m. start time while Lesley's sees its season come to an end, finishing with a 5-8 overall record and a 4-4 mark in NECC play.
The Wildcats took two of the three doubles and then proceeded to grab the next three points in singles action to win the match with three matches still on the courts playing.
First to finish in third doubles action were sophomores Brittany Walsh (North Smithfield, R.I.) and Taylor Wood (Castleton, N.Y.) who defeated the Lynx tandem of sophomore Kelly Watt (Babylon, N.Y) and freshman Kaitlin Parthum (Hardwick, Mass.) 8-1. In the first doubles flight, Wildcats senior Symone Watson (Hamden, Conn.) and junior Stephanie Morin (Springfield, Mass.) overtook sophomore Victoria Bunker (Auburn, M.E.) and freshman Frances De Leon (Murrieta, Calif.) 8-5.
Lesley got on the board taking second doubles as the tandem of juniors Emma True (Lee, N.H.) and Molly Phelps (Durham, N.H.) defeated senior Teanna Montoya (Edgartown, Mass.) and junior Abigail Janneke (Waterbury, Conn.) 8-5.
Watson continued her success in the singles portion of the night, taking the top flight over junior Carissa Iverson (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) to 6-0, 6-1. Despite the doubles loss, Janneke produced a point for the Wildcats in singles action taking the No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-0 over junior Meghann Toomajian (Nahant, Mass.). The third singles match saw Walsh secure the match point by defeating De Leon 6-2, 6-2.
The Lynx continued to battle and picked up wins in the fifth and fourth singles matches. True defeated Taylor Wood 7-5, 3-6, 10-1 to gain a point for the Lynx in No. 5 singles while Bunker also picked up a point topping Montoya 5-7, 6-2, 10-5. Freshman Grace Ciampa (Tewksbury, Mass.) earned the final point of the night when she bested Morin 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in the second singles match.
With Bay Path advancing, the NECC Championship will be a rematch of the 2012 NECC Championships won by Regis College 5-4.
Bay Path College 5, Lesley University 4
Singles competition
1. Symone Watson (BPWT) def. Nicole Smith (LUWT)- 6-0, 6-1
2. Grace Ciampa(LUWT) def. Stephanie Morin (BPWT) - 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
3. Brittany Walsh (BPWT) def. Frances De Leon (LUWT)- 6-2, 6-3
4. Victoria Bunker (LUWT) def. Teanna Montoya (BPWT) - 5-7, 6-2, 10-5
5. Emma True (LUWT) def. Taylor Wood (BPWT)- 7-3, 3-6, 10-1
6. Abigail Janneke (BPWT) def. Meghann Toomajian (LUWT) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Symone Watson/Stephanie Morin (BPWT) def. Frances De Leon/Victoria Bunker (LUWT) - 8-5
2. Emma True/Molly Phelps (LUWT)def. Teanna Montoya/Abigail Janneke (BPWT) - 8-5
3. Brittany Walsh/Taylor Wood (BPWT) def. Kaitlin Parthum/Kelly Watt (LUWT) - 8-1
NECC Women's Tennis Championships
Semifinals- Wednesday, October 16, 2013
#1 Regis College (10-2 overall, NECC 9-0) defeated #4 Becker College (3-10 overall, NECC 2-7) 9-0
#2 Bay Path College (10-4 overall, NECC 7-2) defeated #3 Lesley University (5-8 overall, NECC 4-5) 5-4
Championship- Saturday, October 19th at Regis College (1 pm start)
#2 Bay Path College vs. #1Regis College