No. 2 Wilkes Women's Tennis Set to Host MAC Freedom Semifinal against No. 3 Misericordia
WILKES-BARRE – The second-seeded Wilkes University women's tennis team is set to host third-seeded Misericordia University in a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) Semifinal match Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Ralston Athletic Complex courts.
Live video of the match will be available
here through the Wilkes website. Admission to the match is free.
Championship Central Page
Bracket
Wilkes is looking to extend its current conference championship streak to 15 seasons and will look to do so from the No. 2 seed spot this year. The Colonels earned the second seed after going 6-1 in their MAC Freedom matches this season. Wilkes is 9-6 overall and currently ranked eighth in the NCAA Division III Regional Ranking for Region III as of April 24th.
Misericordia earned the No. 3 seed with a 5-2 conference record and the Cougars stand at 11-2 overall. They are ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III Regional Rankings for Region III.
The Colonels defeated the Cougars in a tightly contested match on April 20th in Dallas, Pa. by a 5-4 score.
In that match Wilkes picked up wins at No. 2 doubles with
Alexa Cieri (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) and
Dasha Yakhnis (Verona, NJ/Verona) winning 8-6 over Hailey Loughlin and Lydia Barbour and No. 3 doubles with
Cassidy Greenman (Glen Gardner, NJ/Voorhees) and
Kaitlyn O'Neil (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe) winning 8-2 over Cassie Benderavich and Lauren Visalli. Brianna Pizzano and Emily Brecker won 8-3 at No. 1 doubles over
Zoe Klein (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) and
Tea Amerise (Mountain Top, PA/Holy Redeemer).
Wilkes won at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 singles to earn the match win. Amerise defeated Loughlin 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3. Greenman beat Barbour 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 4, and Cieri defeated Benderavich 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5.
Misericordia won No. 1, No. 2, and No. 6. Pizzano defeated Yakhnis at No. 1 singles 6-2, 6-1, Brecker beat Klein 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2, and Visalli defeated
Sydney Farmer (Lacey Township, NJ/Lacey Township) 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6.
The Colonels are 24-0 against Misericordia dating back to the 2007-08 season. This year Wilkes has a combined 65-43 singles record and a 30-23 doubles record. The Cougars have combined to have a 62-14 singles record and a 30-9 doubles record.
Top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology hosts fourth seed DeSales University in the other semifinal on Tuesday at Braddock Park in North Bergen, N.J. The winners of each semifinal will meet in the MAC Freedom Championship match on Saturday at the highest remaining seed. The conference champion will receive an NCAA automatic berth to the Division III Tournament, something the Colonels have done for the past 14 consecutive seasons.
2022 MAC Freedom Championship t-shirts will only be available via online order through May 15. Championship merchandise features casual and performance t-shirts (long and short sleeve), tank tops, sweatshirts, hoodies and more with the championship logo on the front and conference team logos on the back. To order a t-shirt, click
here.