Conference Tournament Page / 2010-11 Wilkes Statistics / 2010-11 Eastern Statistics

No. 1 Wilkes (13-1, 5-0) vs. No. 4 Eastern University (5-7, 2-3)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 / 3:30 p.m.
Ralston Athletic Complex / Edwardsville, PA

WILKES-BARRE – Wilkes University is set to host Eastern University in the semifinals of the 2011 Freedom Conference Women's Tennis Tournament on Wednesday, April 27 at 3:30 p.m. at the Ralston Athletic Complex courts. The Lady Colonels are looking for their fifth straight title, which would place them in the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive year.

The Lady Colonels enter postseason play ranked 19th in the Atlantic South region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), going 13-1 overall this year, 5-0 in the conference. Wilkes was completely dominant in the Freedom, blanking all five opponents by scores of 9-0. The Lady Colonels are certain to move up in the next ITA rankings after their decisive 7-2 victory over 12th-ranked Haverford College on April 19.

Headlining the Wilkes lineup in singles play will be two-time conference player of the year, Melanie Nolt (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central). Only a sophomore, Nolt finished the regular season with a 12-3 mark at first singles, including an 8-2 record this spring, going 5-0 in the conference. A four-time conference player of the week honoree, she's also won two Middle Atlantic Conference individual titles in her career.

Playing at No. 2 singles will be Katie Lynn (Berwick, PA/Berwick), another first team all-conference selection for the Lady Colonels. The sophomore finished 7-3 this spring, doing most of her damage in the second spot with a 4-2 record, going 4-0 in conference play.

Ally Kristofco (Hollidaysburg, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) will by the Lady Colonels No. 3 this week, as the freshman combined to go 15-4, playing at each of the top three singles spots. A second team all-conference selection, she won the MAC individual title at No. 3 in the fall and went 5-0 there this spring, while also going 2-0 at first singles and 4-2 in the second spot.

Senior Victoria Bybel (Lancaster/Lancaster Mennonite), a first team all-conference pick, will be playing at No. 4 for the Lady Colonels. She went 11-7 overall this year, including an unblemished 5-0 in conference play. She was a perfect 6-0 at the No. 4 singles spot, and took home the No. 2 singles title this past fall at the MAC individual championships.

Alexis Donner (Belmar, NJ/Wall), the team's wins leader this year, will play at No. 5 singles. The sophomore finished the regular season with a 16-2 mark and is currently on a 15-match win streak, winning all five of her conference matches and going 8-0 at fifth singles this spring. A second team all-conference selection, Donner won the MAC individual title at fifth singles in the fall.

Playing at sixth singles will be Rebekah Shanaman (Richland, PA/ELCO), a junior who finished the regular season with a 15-3 record. Shanaman played at least once in every spot from two thru six, going 3-0 at No. 5 and 5-0 at No. 6. She won the MAC individual title at No. 4 in the fall, following that up with a successful spring, going 11-1, 5-0 in the conference.

On the doubles side, Nolt and Bybel will play at No.1, a spot where they put up an impressive 7-1 record this spring. Also undefeated at 3-0 in conference play, the duo went 11-3 overall this year, winning the MAC title in the fall.

Kristofco and Donner will go for the Lady Colonels at second doubles, where they went 5-2 this spring. Also MAC individual champs at that spot, they went 11-5 overall this year, including 8-2 this spring, while also going 3-0 at No. 1.

Lynn will pair with Anna Mitchell (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) at third doubles, where they came on this spring to go 7-0, including a 3-0 mark at No. 2 and a 4-0 record at No. 3.

Bekah Roland, Nolt's high school doubles partner, will line up for Eastern at No. 1 singles. She went 7-3 at that spot this spring, including 3-2 in the conference. Allison Verdic will play for the Eagles at No. 2, where she went 6-4 on the year. At third singles will be Jacquelyn Sauder, who went 2-7 there this spring.

Rounding out the rest of the Eagles lineup will be Amanda Prescott at No. 4, Christina Haahs at No. 5 and Kim Kirk at No. 6.

Roland and Verdic will pair at the first doubles spot, while Sauder and Prescott will go at two and Haahs and Kirk will play at three.

The Lady Colonels easily defeated Eastern back on April 15, blanking the Eagles 9-0 at home.

The winner of Wednesday's match will play the winner of second-seeded Misericordia University and third-seeded King's College in the finals on Saturday.