The Stevens Women’s Tennis team competed in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Individual Championships over the weekend of September 17-18 at the Ralston Athletic Complex at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The team prevailed as a top contender, as they won gold in five of seven singles competitions and in three of four doubles brackets, earning the most first place finishes of any other team competing. Stevens women’s tennis now ranks third in MAC history, just behind second-ranked Elizabethtown College with 18 titles, after amassing 16 titles in just three seasons—a truly impressive feat.
The first day of competition proved to be triumphant for the team. Athletes in all 11 brackets advanced to at least the semifinal round, as the team collectively had nine advancements to the semifinal round and two to the final round. Third-seeded Agatha Malinowski, second-seeded Stephanie Untermeyer, third seed Polina Odintseva, second seed Emma Eguia, top-seeded Isabella Dona, and third-seeded Anya Sharma advanced to the semifinals in the No.1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 singles competitions, respectively. Malinowski advanced after a series of winning matches and a quarterfinal score of 6-0, 6-0. Odintseva advanced after a 6-0, 6-1 performance in the quarterfinals. Anusha Singh advanced to the finals in the No. 7 singles competition.
The team was strong in the doubles competition as well. Malinowski and Untermeyer were the No. 2 seed in the No. 1 doubles bracket and advanced to the semifinal round after an 8-4 and 8-0 performance in their first two matches. Odintseva and Dona in the No. 2 doubles bracket also advanced to the semifinals after an 8-6 win in the quarterfinal round, alongside first-seeded Eguia and Sharma in the No. 3 doubles bracket following an 8-2 win in the quarterfinals. In the No. 4 doubles bracket, Juliette Marchisio and Aliona Heitz advanced to the final round after an 8-0 win in the semifinal round. The end of the first day of the championships left the team in a favorable position for competition on day two.
The team’s second day of competition was even more successful. Untermeyer, Odintseva, Eguia, Sharma, and Singh each won gold in their respective brackets in the singles competition. Untermeyer scored a 7-6, 6-0 win over Misericordia University, marking her first collegiate individual title. Similarly, Eguia acquired her first individual title of the season. Malinowski and Dona each finished second in the No. 1 and No. 5 singles brackets, respectively.
The doubles competition had just as impressive outcomes. Untermeyer and Malinowski won their title after a close match, scoring 8-6 against top-seeded Misericordia University. Eguia and Sharma won their No. 3 bracket, and Marchisio and Heitz won their No. 4 bracket after an 8-4 win over Lebanon Valley College. Additionally, Dona and Odintseva took second place in the No. 2 doubles bracket.
Women’s tennis finished with at least a second-place finish in each of their 11 brackets, securing five individual singles titles and three individual doubles titles. After the team’s strong performance at the MAC Individual Championships, women’s tennis seems to be headed towards an impressive spring season as well.
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