Posted: Oct 06, 2012

Seahawks clinch playoff seed in loss at Bristol

Shay impressed at sixth singles for the Seahawks, winning five games in a straight-set loss.

BRISTOL, R.I. - Salve Regina University women's tennis suffered a 9-0 setback against Roger Williams University but garnered the sixth seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championships starting next week. The Seahawks believe they can reverse some decisions in their rematch with the third-seeded Hawks in first-round action of the playoffs on Tuesday.

"How can we feel good about getting shutout?" asked Seahawk head coach Ed Habershaw. "We were competitive in each of the doubles matches. On Tuesday, we'll need to step up the aggressiveness there while in singles a little more patience will be helpful."

At No. 1 doubles today, juniors Ana Gwozdz (Taunton, Mass.) and Elizabeth Liguori (Westerly, R.I.) won three of the first four games. The Hawks fought back to win the final seven games.

"Kasey (Walther) made a play early on in our doubles match at No. 2 that showed we're capable of aggressive net play," said Habershaw. "Shannon (O'Brien) was involved in a crosscourt rally using backhands and inside out forehands when Walther just stepped in and angled a winning backhand volley. Each of our players shows glimpses of this strategy so it's just a matter of putting it together for an entire match."

The O'Brien-Walther pair went down 8-2 while Salve Regina's No. 3 pair of sophomores Elizabeth DiFilippo (West Chester, Pa.) and Meg Olson (Colchester, Vt.) had the closest score in doubles, falling 8-6. Trailing 7-4, DiFilippo held serve and then the duo broke to force the final changeover.

In singles, sophomore Erica Shay (Concord, Mass.) scored the most games for the Seahawks at No. 6.

"Again, we competed but the opposing singles players proved more patient in eliciting errors from our racquets," commented Habershaw. "It would be no surprise to post a shutout in our favor on Tuesday."

Salve Regina (4-6; 3-5 CCC) finished tied with Western New England University in fifth place but the Golden Bears defeated the Seahawks in a head-to-head meeting on Sept. 19. Tuesday will mark the eighth meeting for the Seahawks and Hawks in the CCC postseason. Roger Williams has won five of the previous seven meetings including ending Salve Regina's title bid in 2010.

Tennis Match Results
Salve Regina vs Roger Williams
10/06/12 at Bristol, R.I.
(RWU Tennis Courts)

Roger Williams 9, Salve Regina 0
Singles competition
1. Tracy Klein (RWU) def. Kasey Walther (SRU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Samantha Curran (RWU) def. Ana Gwozdz (SRU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Lauren Schmidt (RWU) def. Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Hillary Dutton (RWU) def. Elizabeth DiFilippo (SRU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Alexandra Brown (RWU) def. Shannon O'Brien (SRU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Adriana Maconochie (RWU) def. Erica Shay (SRU) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Samantha Curran/Adriana Maconochie (RWU) def. Ana Gwozdz/Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) 8-3
2. Hillary Dutton/Tracy Klein (RWU) def. Shannon O'Brien/Kasey Walther (SRU) 8-2
3. Olivia Hilton/Alexandra Reilly (RWU) def. Elizabeth DiFilippo/Meg Olson (SRU) 8-6

Match Notes:
Salve Regina 4-6, 3-5 CCC
Roger Williams 8-3, 6-2 CCC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,4,1,2,5,6)
Official: John Jasionowski T-2:35 A-60