Tag Archives: UAlbany

DANES ARE BROKEN BY THE ‘ HEART’, 4-3

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UAlbany

(Latham, NY). The UAlbany women’s tennis team let victory slip through their fingers today, dropping a 4-3 decision to Sacred Heart at Tri-City Tennis and Fitness. Sarah Iannone just ‘refused to lose’ and was the only double winner for the Danes, taking #5 singles in straight sets, then teaming with co-captain Fran White to clinch the doubles point for the Danes at #3. Cat Crummey continued to compete well, pulling out a three-set win at #4. And the #1 doubles team of Rocio Lopez and Kirsten Scott steamrolled their opponents, 8-1.

The match was played in reverse order due to court availability, with singles going first, followed by doubles. The Danes grabbed early leads with Lopez (#1), Scott (#2), Crummey (#4) and Iannone (#5), and things were looking up for awhile. But the Pioneers top two singles players fought back strong and both earned key wins to put them over the top in singles, making the doubles matches a mere formality.

The Danes now turn their focus to their spring break trip where they play three teams in 10 days in South Carolina. The College of Charleston, nationally ranked as high as #61 earlier this season, will be a big challenge, and the other two teams (Presbyterian and Coastal Carolina) won’t be much easier. So, this promises to be a good test for the Danes as they prepare for April and what they hope will be a run at the AmericaEast championship.

Coach Graham: “This was a tough loss. Even though we were missing two starters, this was a winnable match.
Wish we had a ‘do-over’.
We will take a lesson from this and get better in practice, coach smarter, and compete tougher next time.”

UALBANY 3 SACRED HEART 4

Singles:
1. Gabi Kaldan (SH) def. Rocio Lopez (UA) 6-3,6-4
2. Katie DeRienzo (SH) def. Kirsten Scott (UA) 1-6,6-1,6-3 $
3. Nicole Rydzewski (SH) def. Mireille Hermans (UA) 6-3,6-4
4. Cat Crummey (UA) def. Paige Olson (SH) 6-1,3-6,6-4
5. Sarah Iannone (UA) def. Lindsey Post (SH) 6-4,6-4
6. Alyssa Migliorini (SH) def. Fran White (UA) 6-0,6-1
Order of finish: 6,1,3,5,4,2
$=Clinched match for Sacred Heart

Doubles:
1. Lopez-Scott (UA) def. Kaldan-Olson (SH) 8-1
2. DeRienzo-Post (SH) def. Crummey-Hermans (UA) 8-5
3. Iannone-White (UA) def. Rydzewski-Migliorini (SH) 8-5**
Order of finish: 1,3,2
**Clinched doubles point for UAlbany

UALBANY RECORDS: 5-6 (overall); 1-0 (America East)

NEXT MATCH: Monday, March 18, 2:30pm vs. PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, Clinton, SC

NEXT HOME MATCH: Friday, April 5, 2:00 p.m. vs. BINGHAMTON @ Dutch Quad courts

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UAlbany Tennis Wins First Conference Match of 2013 in Weekend Sweep

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UAlbanyALBANY, N.Y. – The University at women’s tennis team won two matches in 14 hours to raise their record to 5-5 on Saturday, March 9. First they defeated crosstown rival Siena, 4-3, before winning their first America East Conference dual match against Hartford, 6-1. Junior Rocio Lopez and sophomore team co-captain Kirsten Scott went undefeated on the day, teaming up for two doubles victories and winning both of their singles matches. The No. 1 doubles duo has now won three straight.

 

SienaEventImageSiena: The Great Danes quickly dealt fatal blows to the Saints (2-3) No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams to take the doubles point.  Three of the singles matches were tough battles.  Graduate student Irene Santos fought off multiple set points and came back to win the first set. The Spaniard, Santos, led 2-1, in the second when Lopez clinched the match and Santos was pulled off for health reasons. 

 

Co-captain and sophomore Fran White nearly got her first win of the spring as she turned in a stellar performance at No. 6.  White played a solid first set, narrowly losing.

 

The Great Danes proceeded to romp Siena in the three singles matches needed to clinch the win. Scott got the win first, followed by freshman standout Cat Crummey and lastly was Lopez winning easily.

 

HartfordHartford: UAlbany (5-5, 1-0 AE) turned around after match one to battle Hartford at Tri-City Fitness. In their first America East dual match of 2013, the Great Danes were victorious. Their only losses were No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles due to default.

 

UAlbany went into doubles play with a default loss, therefore needing to win both matches to take the first point of the night. UAlbany took care of business as Lopez and Scott showed veteran leadership at the top spot. They shutout their opponent, 8-0. Crummey returned to the court from injury with freshman teammate Mireille Hermans defeated Jessica Galik and Hannah Goldman, 8-3, to clinch the first point.

 

In singles play, the Great Danes won their matches in order to cruise to victory. Lopez advanced to 9-1 in singles play on the season with a 6-2,6-2 win over Katina Zampas. Scott and Crummey, both recently off injury, also had strong performances. They won 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1 respectively. Crummey clinched the match with the win.

 

“It was a long day, starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 10:30 p.m. It was a bit of a mental gut-check for everyone.” said coach Gordon Graham. “The team responded well with lots of positive energy. We will be fighting hard to keep that rolling.” 

 

The next match for the Great Danes is Wednesday, March 13 as they host the Sacred Heart Pioneers at Tri-City Fitness in Latham.  Match time is set for 2 p.m.

 

UALBANY  4   SIENA  3   (9:00 a.m. at Sportime, Schenectady, NY)

 
Doubles:
1. Lopez-Scott (UA) def. Macaluso-Byaz (S) 8-1
2. Santos-Hermans (UA) def. Varano-Singh (S) 8-3**
3. Benfer-Filip (S) def. White-Crummey (UA) 8-3
Order of finish: 1,2,3. (The rare “Sesame Street” finish.)
**=Clinched doubles point for UAlbany.
Singles:
1. Rocio Lopez (UA) def. Brittany Filip (S) 6-1,6-2$$
2. Maria Varano (S) def. Irene Santos (UA) 5-7,1-2 (ret.)
3. Kirsten Scott (UA) def. Allysa Singh (S) 6-1,3-2 (ret.)
4. Jessica Macaluso (S) def. Mireille Hermans (UA) 6-4,6-4
5. Cat Crummey (UA) def. Cassie Byaz (S) 6-0,6-3
6. Erika Reagan (S) def. Fran White (UA) 6-4,6-7(5),1-0(3)
Order of finish: 3,5,1,2,6,4.
$$=Clinched match for UAlbany.
UALBANY 6  HARTFORD 1  
 
Doubles:
1. Lopez-Scott (UA) def Zampas-Beclz (H) 8-0
2. Hermans-Crummey (UA) def. Goldman-Galilz (H) 8-3**
3. Greenberg-Bennett (H) won by default
Order of finish: 3,1,2
**=Clinched doubles point for UAlbany
 
Singles:
1. Lopez (UA) def. K. Zampas (H) 6-2,6-2
2. Scott (UA) def. H. Goldman (H) 6-1,6-0
3. Hermans (UA) def. C Beclz (H) 6-3,6-2
4. Crummey (UA) def. J. Galilz (H) 6-0,6-1$$
5. White (UA) def. C. Greenberg (H) 6-1,6-1
6. S. Bennett (H) won by default
Order of finish: 6,2,5,4,1,3
$$=Clinched match for UAlbany
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DANES TURN THE TABLES ON THE RAMS, 5-2

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UAlbany(Schenectady, NY)  UAlbany women’s tennis won the doubles point decisively, then had to battle from behind to take enough singles matches to clinch their first victory in over two weeks, downing a feisty Rhode Island team, 5-2.  Last year the Rams prevailed 6-1, so it was a sweet win today for the Danes.
The Danes dominated the #1 and #2 doubles matches, winning both by decisive margins.  Rocio Lopez and Kirsten Scott were first off, winning 8-2 at #1.  Close behind was the new pairing of Irene Santos and Mireille Hermans who triumphed 8-1 at #2.  Dane doubles #3, Sarah Iannone and Fran White, came so close before falling in a tiebreak 8-7 (4).
In singles, Santos and Hermans were separated from the other four matches because of the court assignments.  However, they turned out to be the only Danes who won their first sets.  On the other side of the club, Scott, Iannone and White all lost their first sets rather quickly and Lopez followed suit by losing an acrimonious, hotly-contested first set.  At this point things looked a bit tenuous for the Danes, and it soon got even more so as both White, and seconds later Iannone, lost their singles matches leaving  the Danes down 2-1 in total points, and down a set at #1 and #3.
But Lopez and Scott started to take control of their second sets, while Hermans dropped her second set and Santos was embroiled in a tight match as well.  The newest Dane, Santos, came from 5-3 down in the first to win 7-5,6-4 and pull the Danes even 2-2.  Co-captain Scott did a good job of turning her match around against a style of player that used to give her trouble.  But the Canadian sophomore showed good maturity.  She played patient, yet aggressive tennis to pull out the second and third sets and put the Danes ahead 3-2.
Hermans picked an opportune time to win her first singles match of the spring season, clinching the match.  After winning the first set 6-0, the freshman from the Netherlands fell behind 5-1 in the second set and rolled her ankle in the process.  She then fought back to 5-4, but lost the second.  She kept her momentum going, however, and took the third handily, 6-2, then celebrated with a big bear hug from assistant coach, Nicole Briceno.
Lopez got the Danes their 5th point with the unusual score of 6-7, 6-0, 6-1.  She was embroiled in a heated battle of tennis skills and extremely loud self-exhortation with her Ram opponent.  Although Lopez dropped the first set and may have lost the verbal battle as well, she won the war, which is what counts.   By taking complete control of the start of the second set, the junior Spaniard broke the spirit of her Ram opponent and rolled her 6-0,6-1 in the second and third sets.
This puts the Danes at 3-5 on the season, and more importantly gives a boost to their confidence.  Pulling out a close one like this is just what the doctor ordered.  And speaking of doctor’s orders…Cat Crummey recovered from her week-long bout of the flu to come cheer her team to victory accompanied by Cheryl Kukkonen who had her cast removed and hopes to be back playing in 10+ days.  Things are coming together for the Danes.
Next up is a rare DOUBLE-HEADER.  This coming Saturday they take on crosstown rival SIENA at 9:00 a.m. at Sportime in Schenectady.  Then that evening they play their first AmericaEast conference match of the season vs. HARTFORD at Tri-City in Latham at 7:00 p.m.
Coach Graham: “This was a good ‘team’ victory today.  We had several people step up in crunch time and pull out crucial wins for the team.  There was a point in the match at which we were definitely in a hole with the real possibility of losing this whole thing.  But Kirsten, Mireille and Rocio ALL pulled out three set wins!  It was an exciting match and a big confidence booster!  This will help propel us forward.”
 
 

UALBANY 5  RHODE ISLAND 2

 
Doubles:
1. Lopez-Scott (UA) def. Chernykh-Uy (URI) 8-2
2. Santos-Hermans (UA) def. Asokaraj-Wojciak (URI) 8-1**
3. Sadovnikova-Benoit (URI) def. Iannone-White (UA) 8-7(4)
Order of finish: 1,2,3
**Clinched doubles point for UAlbany
 
Singles:
1. Rocio Lopez (UA) def. Galina Chernykh (URI) 6-7(4), 6-0,6-1
2. Irene Santos (UA) def. Kathleen UY (URI) 7-5,6-4
3. Kirsten Scott (UA) def. Nithila Asokaraj (URI) 0-6,6-3,6-4
4. Mireille Hermans (UA) def. Karolina Wojciak (URI) 6-0,4-6,6-2 $$
5. Elizaveta Sadovnikova (URI) def. Sarah Iannone (UA) 6-2,6-4
6. Lauren Benoit (URI) def. Fran White (UA) 6-3,6-2
Order of finish: 6,5,2,3,4,1.
$$=Clinched match for UAlbany.
 
UALBANY Records: 3-5 (overall); 0-0 (AmericaEast)
 
NEXT MATCHES:
  • Saturday, March 9, 9:00 a.m. vs. SIENA @ Sportime, Schenectady, NY
  • Saturday, March 9, 7:00 p.m. vs. HARTFORD @ Tri-City, Latham, NY
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DANES SERVE UP DOUBLE DUALS THIS WEEKEND

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The UAlbany women’s tennis team takes to the courts again this weekend.  Following the pattern of last weekend’s opposition, the Danes take on an Ivy League team on Saturday, followed the next day by a team that beat them 6-1 last year.

This weekend it is Cornell in Ithaca, NY, Saturday at 9:30a.m.  Then Sunday they take on the Univ. of Rhode Island at Sportime in Schenectady.
UAlbanyFor you hometown supporters, the URI match starts at 1:00 p.m and will likely go until 4:00 p.m., or later.  Sportime is a quick 15 min. drive west on I-90 to the first Schenectady exit, then west on Curry Rd.  An EASY DRIVE to see the DANES AVENGE last year’s 6-1 defeat.  And the viewing is excellent at Sportime!!
Coach Graham: “This is going to be an interesting pair of matches for us.  Cornell is another solid Ivy League team that will challenge us to play our best.  We will have to play with more consistency than we did last weekend and compete TOUGH.  URI is a team that somehow beat us last year, so I know we will be fired up for them.  Our healthy players are starting to play better, which is great to see.  Now we just need to get a couple of more players healthy!”
 
This Weekend’s Match Schedule:
 
  • Saturday, March 2, 9:30 a.m. vs. CORNELL at Ithaca, NY
  • Sunday, March 3, 1:00 p.m. vs. UNIV. of RHODE ISLAND at Sportime in Schenectady, NY
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Weekend Recap: Lopez Improves to 5-1; UAlbany Drops Two in New Hampshire

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UAlbanyHANOVER, NH – The University at Albany women’s tennis team traveled to New Hampshire to play two non-conference away matches last weekend. On Saturday, they competed against Dartmouth University, dropping the match, 7-0. Sunday’s match against Fordham proved to be much more competitive, yet the Great Danes fell just short, 4-3. Sophomore Cheryl Kukkonen made her season debut in No. 3 doubles play while juniorRocio Lopez improved to 5-1 on the season.

 

The Big Green, who have only one loss on the season to Boston College, improved to 6-1 over the weekend. They swept UAlbany, giving up only eight games in total,. They won all six singles matches in straight sets.

 

The freshman duo of Cat Crummey and Mireille Hermans took Dartmouth by surprise, winning the first three games of the match. However, Janet Liu and Christina Danosi of the Big Green took eight of the next nine games to win, 8-4.

 

In singles play, senior Sarah Iannone played a tough match at the No. 6 singles position. She took seven games from Danosi, losing 6-3, 6-4. Hermans managed to pull out five games – losing to Suzy Tan at the No. 4 spot, 6-3, 6-2.

 

On Sunday, UAlbany (2-4) turned their attention to Fordham. The Rams were also defeated by Dartmouth on Saturday, 6-1. This match proved to have a much more even playing field. The Great Danes showed much improvement after losing to Fordam, 6-1 last season. 

 

The Rams came out strong in doubles play – taking all three matches. The competition’s first point was clinched at the No. 2 spot with Crummey and Hermans falling to Bella Genkina and Anika Novacek, 8-4. The No. 1 doubles team, Spanish teammates Lopez and Irene Bravo, also took four games.

 

The Great Danes charged back in singles play. They took three matches, coming just one short of upsetting the Rams for the victory.

 

The match of the day came at the No. 2 spot with Lopez defeating Sarah Ali. The Georgia Tech transfer has been sensational for the Great Danes this season, alternating between the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots. Lopez took the first set, 7-5, but then dropped set two 3-6. This created a third set, take-all, scenario. The match went into a tiebreak after a 6-6 stalemate. Lopez took the match, 10-8.

 

Elsewhere, Kirsten Scott returned from injury to grab her second victory of the season. The sophomore defeated Bella Genkina at the No. 4 spot rather easily, 6-1, 6-2. Bravo, ranked No. 443 by the WTA in 2010, won her match due to injury of her opponent. Angie Dabo clinched the match for Fordham at the No. 3 singles spot. She defeated Hermans, 6-2, 6-3.

 

“We turned in a good singles performance after dropping the doubles point and nearly got it done against Fordham,” said head coach Gordon Graham. “Santos, Scott and Lopez all won their singles. Lopez’ win was an entertaining match, one of the best UA matches in a long time.  The final score shows how much we have improved since our 6-1 loss to them last year.”

 

The Great Danes will conclude their current four-match roadstand next weekend. They battle Cornell on Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y., match-time set for 9:30 a.m. On Sunday, UAlbany comes home to play Rhode Island at SPORTIME in Schenectady, N.Y. Match-time is set for 11:00 a.m.

 

UALBANY 0 DARTMOUTH 7 (Saturday, Feb. 23)

 

Doubles:
1. Okuda-Bessen (D) def. Lopez-Santos (UA) 8-3*
2. Liu-Danosi (D) def. Hermans-Crummey (UA) 8-4
3. Keong-Tan (D) def. Scott-Kukkonen (UA) 8-1
Order of finish: 3,1,2
*= Clinched doubles point for Dartmouth

Singles:
1. Sarah Leonard (D) def. Rocio Lopez (UA) 6-2,6-0
2. Katherine Yah (D) def. Irene Santos (UA) 6-0,6-1
3. Melissa Matsuoka (D) def. Kirsten Scott (UA) 6-0,6-2
4. Suzy Tan (D) def. Mireille Hermans (UA) 6-3,6-2
5. Julienne Keong (D) def. Cat Crummey (UA) 6-1,6-0
6. Christina Danosi (D) def. Sarah Iannone (UA) 6-3,6-4
Order of finish: 2,5,1,3,4,6
$=Clinched match for Dartmouth

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DANES DOWN THREE PLAYERS…STILL COME CLOSE TO QUINNIPIAC

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UAlbany(West Point, NY).  UAlbany started in a deep hole, down three of their starters and having to give away two matches due to lack of players to put in the lineup.  Still they came close to taking this match, much closer than the final score, 6-1, would indicate.  Rocio Lopez continued her unbeaten streak in singles with a straight sets win at #1. And the freshman duo of Mireille Hermans-Cat Crummey played perhaps their best doubles of the young season, winning 8-6 at #2 doubles.
UA very nearly won two more points: #1 doubles and #2 singles, which had they done so, would have put them only one match from victory…an amazing feat considering everybody was playing up one to three spots higher in the lineup than they normally would play.  At #1 doubles the newly-formed team of Lopez and Sarah Iannone battled gamely against a tough team.  Down 7-4, they came back to 7-6.  But the Quinnipiac team managed to hold on to close out the match and get the doubles point with two consecutive net cord winners; a highly improbable feat.   The other match that got away from the Danes was Hermans’

 singles match at #2.  Clearly the better player, Hermans led 6-3, 5-2 when her opponent started her charge.  Still the Dutch freshman got to match point at 5-4 and actually won that point, but generously did not call her opponent’s shot ‘out’ on the baseline, a shot that was a good 3-4″ long.
Next up for the Danes is a few days of practice and getting healthy in preparation for a couple of strong opponents on the road next weekend.  They travel to Dartmouth to take on a good Ivy League opponent on Saturday, then the next day play Fordham, a team that we felt we could have beaten last year.
On the health front, things are looking up for the Danes.  Co-captain Kirsten Scott is poised to get back on the courts, as is Irene Santos.  And sophomore Cheryl Kukkonen, on the shelf for a month with a broken left wrist, may be ready to start testing things out with a new cast.
Coach Graham: “This was a tough position for us, to be short so many players that we actually had to give away matches and have players playing much higher than usual.   But it was a good learning experience that will make us tougher in the future.  Rocio continues to play her exciting all-court game… and WIN!  Mireille is on the verge of breaking through in singles, and she and Cat took a big step forward in doubles today.  Sarah jumped from #3 doubles into the #1 doubles spot and played well.  And we kept spirits high!  We are going to start adding players back into the lineup and we’ll be fine.”

UALBANY 1  QUINNIPIAC 6

 
Doubles:
1.  Cantor-Viebrock (Q) def. Lopez-Iannone (UA) 8-6*
2.  Hermans-Crummey (UA) def. Chupa-Laurie (Q) 8-6
3.  Dassa-Suvna (Q) won by default
Order of finish: 3,2,1
*Clinched doubles point.

Singles:
1.  Rocio Lopez (UA) def. Rachel Cantor (Q) 6-4, 6-3
2.  Sarah Viebrock (Q) def. Mireille Hermans (UA) 3-6,7-6(6), 1-0(3)
3.  Michelle Dassa (Q) def. Cat Crummey (UA) 6-0,6-1
4.  Mary Chupa (Q) def. Sarah Iannone (UA) 6-3.6-2
5.  Ariana Laurie (Q) def. Fran White (UA) 6-0.6-0$
6.  Erin Suvna (Q) won by default
Order of finish: 6,3,5,4,1,2
$Clinched match for Quinnipiac.
UALBANY Records: 2-2 (overall); 0-0 (AmericaEast)
Next matches: Sat., Feb. 23, 3:00 p.m. at Dartmouth
                       Sun., Feb. 24, 9:00 a.m. vs. Fordham @ Dartmouth
Next home match: Sun., March 3, 1:00 p.m. vs. RHODE ISLAND at Sportime in Schenectady
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DANES RUN OVER THE STAGS IN ‘THE BUBBLE’, 5-2

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UAlbany(Albany, NY). UAlbany tennis pulled out the doubles point in thrilling fashion, then dominated the Stags in four of the six singles matches to move their record to 2-1 on the spring season.  This match was originally scheduled at Sportime, but was wiped out by winter storm Nemo and rescheduled to the the Danes’ home practice facility, affectionately known as ‘The Bubble’.
The Danes started slowly in doubles, falling behind in all three positions.  The new combo of Rocio Lopez and Irene Santos struggled out of the gate and fell behind 5-0, looking like they had never played together (which they hadn’t).  The momentum began to change UA’s way as the #3 team of Sarah Iannone and Fran White started to click, forged a lead and stayed ahead to win the match 8-6 in a well-played match.  #2 doubles, Cat Crummey and Mireille Hermans kept it close, but were behind on every changeover.  In the meantime, it was “Vamos” time at #1 as the Spaniards got it going, and charged back from 7-2 down to tie the match, 7-7.  Simultaneously the #2 team went into a tiebreak as well.  The #1’s came up short, losing their tiebreak 8-6 and putting the outcome on the shoulders of the freshmen, Crummey-Hermans.  The freshmen did not disappoint and came through with a solid tiebreak, winning it 7-5 to clinch the doubles point.
The Bubble affords only three match-worthy courts, so the top three singles matches went on, while 4,5 and 6 stayed on the sidelines to cheer.   The Danes rode the wave of momentum they had generated from the doubles and took all three first sets.  Lopez kept her winning streak alive by rolling over her Stag opponent in less than one hour.  Santos started slowly, then she too went on a roll to win her first match as a Great Dane, 6-3,6-2.  And Hermans, playing against a talented Stag at #1, played her even for two sets, winning the first 6-4 and coming so close in the second.  Hermans was down 5-4, but serving up 40-love, one point from evening the second set when Yajima kicked into another gear, closed out the second and just kept rolling through the third.  
 
Now the Danes were up 3-1 in matches won, and the 4,5 and 6 singles players took over.  What little hope the Stags had left was quickly dashed as Crummey blitzed her left-handed opponent 6-1,6-1 to close out the match for the Danes.  With the match clinched, the final two matches were switched to 8-game pro sets to speed up the finish.  Iannone played solidly and dismissed the Stags’ #5 player 8-5 for the Danes final point on the day.  At #6, White took awhile to get going, but for the last half of the match she showed the solid play that helped win a key doubles match earlier.  However, she was not able to overcome her opponent’s lead.
 
It wasn’t a ‘massacre’, but it was a good Valentine’s Day win for the Danes, their second of the early season over a team that beaten them last season.  Their record now stands at 2-1.
 
Next up for the squad is a social tennis venture: a “member-guest” mixer with members of the Sportime club in Schenectady, one of their two “home clubs”, tomorrow at 7pm.
 
Then Sunday they drive to West Point to play Quinnipiac at 2pm in Army’s indoor tennis center.
 
Coach Graham: “We had another good team effort today!  We didn’t start well in doubles, but all three teams picked up the energy level and aggressiveness to take charge.  Winning the doubles point was key to our overall team victory, and our #3 team of Iannone and White, who played their best yet, came through!  Then we just played some dominating singles.  A nice win in front of several UA staff and students, and others!”
 
 
UALBANY 5  FAIRFIELD 2
 
Doubles
1.  Yajima-Pirrello (F) def. Lopez-Santos (UA) 8-7 (6)
2. Hermans-Crummey (UA) def. Radde-Ryan (F) 8-7 (5)*
3.  Iannone-White (UA) def. Jackson-Jamson (F) 8-6
Order of finish: 3,1,2.
*=Clinched doubles point.

Singles
1. Monica Yajima (F) def. Mireille Hermans (UA) 4-6,6-4,6-0
2. Rocio Lopez (UA) def. Sharissa Ryan (F) 6-1,6-1
3. Irene Santos (UA) def. Alison Radde (F) 6-3,6-2
4. Cat Crummey (UA) def. Tori Pirello (F) 6-1,6-1$$
5. Sarah Iannone (UA) def. Nikki Jackson (F) 8-5
6. Emma Jamson (F) def. Francine White (UA) 8-3
Order of finish: 2,3,1,4,5,6
$$=Match clincher
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DANES PLAY MAKEUP MATCH vs. STAGS @ 3:00pm

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UAlbany(Albany, NY).  Wiped out by winter storm Nemo five days ago, the UAlbany and Fairfield tennis teams will try it again on Valentine’s Day in the UAlbany bubble.  The match starts at 3:00 p.m. with doubles, followed by singles around 4:00 p.m.  Played on only 3 or 4 courts, the match is expected to last at least until 6:00 p.m., possibly as late as 8:00 p.m.
Irene Santos is expected to make her Albany debut with countrywoman Rocio Lopez in doubles, followed by singles.  But the enthusiasm of having Santos join the roster has been tempered by the loss of co-captain Kirsten Scott who will have to sit this one out due to injuries suffered in her three hour singles marathon on Sunday vs. Providence.  She and roommate Cheryl Kukkonen (broken wrist) will be cheering loudly.
The Danes are 1-1 on the spring.
Coach Graham: “This promises to be an entertaining and competitive match.  Last year we narrowly lost 4-3 after being up match point in a couple of matches that we eventually dropped.  The bubble gives us a bit of a home court advantage, but we are still going to have to go out and win this match.  Fairfield fought really tough last year and I expect we’ll see that again tomorrow.”
 
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DANES DROP A CLOSE ONE TO FRIARS, 5-2

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(Tri-City Tennis and Fitness, Latham, NY).  The Great Danes lost the doubles point and the first two singles matches to fall behind 3-0, but kept fighting and nearly won this match.  Rocio Lopez was the only double winner on the day as she and Kirsten Scott dominated at #1 doubles, then she pulled out a hard fought three-setter at #3 singles.  And freshman Cat Crummey won again at #4 singles in straight sets to account for the Danes only two points.  
 
Scott came within one point of winning at #1 singles, and proved she can compete well at that always demanding position.  Mireille Hermans made a big comeback at #2 after dropping the first set to take the second set and nearly go up 4-2 in the third.  Fran White and Sarah Iannone (#6 and #5 respectively) showed much improvement in both their singles and doubles.  
 
The match took exactly four hours and was a highly spirited affair!  Both teams were cheering at a high vocal level, much of it in Spanish.  In the end, Providence just kept a few more balls in the court in key situations, and relied on their experience to take key wins at #1 and #2 singles, which turned out to be the difference today.
 
The Danes,1-1 on the season, take on FAIRFIELD with an expected start time of 3:00pm on Thursday, Feb. 14 at the Bubble on the UA campus.  It’s a VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL…Free Admission to everyone who brings a Valentines Day card or candy!!
 
 
Coach Graham:  This was a great college tennis match with everything you could want except a win for the home team.  We competed with so much heart and effort!  We dropped the doubles point, then fell behind 3-0 after two singles matches, but the four remaining players kept fighting and we came within a few points of sweeping all of them to take the match.   This team can accomplish a lot this season by competing like this going forward.  We are going to improve on the practice courts, and we will get more healthy, too.  I feel good about what lies ahead for this season!
 
UALBANY 2   PROVIDENCE COLLEGE  5
 
Doubles:
1.  Scott-Lopez (UA) def. Aviles- Bernardez (PC) 8-3
2.  Prinos-Corder (PC) def. Hermans-Crummey (UA) 8-2*
3.  Ramirez-Zangari (PC) def. Iannone-White (UA) 8-3
Order of finish: 3,2,1.  
*=doubles point clincher                                                                                                                                                              
Singles:
1.  Marisela Aviles (PC) def. Kirsten Scott (UA) 2-6,7-5,7-6(0)
2.  Maria Bernardez (PC) def. Mireille Hermans (UA) 6-2,4-6,6-4 $$
3.  Rocio Lopez (UA) def. Alana Prinos (PC) 6-4,5-7,6-3
4.  Cat Crummey (UA) def. Taylor Corder (PC) 6-4,7-5
5.  Karen Ramirez (PC) def. Sarah Iannone (UA) 6-3,6-0
6.  Hannah Zanjari (PC) def. Fran White (UA) 6-3,6-1
Order of finish: 5,6,4,2,3,1
$$=Match clincher
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FAIRFIELD MATCH POSTPONED; PROVIDENCE COMING ON SUNDAY

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UAlbany(Albany, NY) The winter storm scheduled to hit New England has forced the postponement of the Great Danes’ match vs. Fairfield tomorrow.  The Providence Friars vs. UAlbany match is still “ON” for Sunday, 2:00 p.m. at Tri-City Tennis and Fitness in Latham, NY (exit #7 off of I-87).
 
The Fairfield match has been re-scheduled for next Thursday, Feb. 14, 3:00 p.m. in the bubble on the UAlbany campus.
 
The Great Danes will be looking to raise their season record to 2-0 on Sunday vs. a good Providence team.  REMEMBER: the viewing just got a whole lot better at Tri-City now that they pull some of their curtains back for our matches!!!  SEE YOU THERE!!!
 
Coach Graham: “We expect a great match on Sunday!  Providence is a team that keeps a lot of balls in the court, so we’ll need to be patiently aggressive.  Last year we beat them at Providence in a very exciting, down-to-the-wire match, 4-3.  We were behind 3-2 and got three set wins from Sarah Iannone and Livia Gherman to pull it out.  I won’t be surprised to see the same scenario this Sunday.”
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GREAT DANES HOST 15-LOVE and NYJTL YOUNGSTERS and STAFF

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(Albany, NY)  The UAlbany women’s tennis team played host to over two dozen participants from the 15-Love and NYJTL programs today in the Dane’s tennis bubble.  The guests got to meet all the Dane players and coaches, do some fun drills and games and take a mini-campus tour to get a taste of college life.
 
15-Love (www.15Love.org) and NYJTL (www.nyjtl.org) are two organizations dedicated to providing tennis and educational enrichment opportunities to urban youth.  Both are great organizations that have done so much for their respective communities, 15-Love in Albany and NYJTL in New York City.  It was a pleasure for our team to get to associate with these programs and to have so much fun with their young people!
 
Here are a couple of pictures from today’s event: one is a group pic, and the other is all the kids and Dane players doing our traditional “Hands In” huddle.
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GREAT DANES START SEASON WITH HARD FOUGHT WIN OVER RED FOXES, 4-3

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UAlbany(Latham, NY)  The curtains opened on a new season and the Danes didn’t disappoint the good tennis crowd that turned out at Tri-City Tennis and Fitness.  They avenged a 4-3 loss to Marist from last year with a win by the same score.  It was a solid triumph for the Danes, one that conceivably could have been 6-1.  But a couple of close matches went to the Red Foxes after freshman Cat Crummey had clinched the match for the good guys with her 6-3,6-3 victory at #4 in her home club.
 
The doubles started out with Marist in control at #3 and UAlbany in complete control at #1 (Scott-Lopez).   So it looked like the doubles point would come down to #2, freshmen Crummey and Mireille Hermans (Netherlands).  The Dane frosh started a bit slowly and found themselves down 3-2.  But from that point they reeled off an impressive six straight games to take #2 doubles.  Kirsten Scott (Alberta, Canada) and Rocio Lopez (Madrid, Spain) soon followed suit at #1 and the Danes won the always important doubles point to go up 1-0.
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U Albany – DUAL MATCH SEASON BEGINS vs. MARIST @ TRI-CITY

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The Great Dane tennis team opens its 2013 campaign by hosting the Marist Red Foxes at 2:00p.m., Friday, Feb. 1st.    
 
Tri-City Tennis and Fitness (in Latham just off of exit 7 on the Northway), is pulling back the curtains on the Dane’s dual match season…literally and figuratively.  This move will allow better viewing for spectators and more FUN for EVERYONE!!  We really appreciate this big move on Tri-City’s part.  We know there are lots of people who would like to see our team play and now spectators will find it much easier to view.
 
The Danes lost narrowly to Marist last season, so are eager for this year’s match and to kick-off the spring season!   We’ve been working hard all fall and made lots of progress as a team, and individually.  I expect we will compete hard and we will give it our best!!!
 
Saturday following the match, the Danes will host local youngsters from 15-Love in an afternoon of tennis games and drills, plus mini-campus tours helping to orient them to college life.  15-Love is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of urban youth with life skills, education and tennis training.  To find out more about this great organization, go to: www.15love.org.  And if you would like to come watch, we will be in the UAlbany tennis bubble on Saturday from 1-4pm.  
 
Everyone is WELCOME to both Great Dane tennis events this weekend!!
 
Go DANES!!!
 
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Kandath Update and More

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Matt Kandath, a senior at Stanford out of Albany Academy is currently playing the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northwest Regional.  He won his first round match beating Eastern Washington‘s Joseph Cohen 6-4, 6-2.  In doubles, Matt is paired with Nolan Paige.  I will update results on the blog soon.

Matt has held an ATP ranking (#1331 in the world) and an ITF ranking (the 53rd ranked junior in the world). He also was ranked 11th in the country in the 18 and unders and 6th in the country in the 16 and unders.  Last year Matt was Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team honoree.

At Brown, sister Sarah Kandath (Albany Academy for Girls) started the season with a win in doubles with partner Nikita Uberoi over a team from Boston College.  Kandath and Uberoi lost the next round but rebounded to win the 7/8 place matchup against another team from Boston College.   Next up was the USTA Women’s Collegiate Invitational at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center where Sarah beat Lauren Frazier (Cornell) 6-0, 6-2; Sarah Bessen (Dartmouth) 6-2, 6-4; and Emily Hahn (Princeton) 6-2, 6-4.  She lost in the finals to Mariam Zein (Rutgers)  6-2, 7-5.  Sarah played #3 Doubles at the event with partner Laura Wiley.  Wiley and Kandath recorded wins over Nour/Sidorenko (Charleston Southern) 9-8 (5); Chow/Hahn (Princeton) 8-4; Nelson/Sipes (NC State) 8-6; and Judeh/Kayati (Rutgers) 9-8 (4) in the finals.  In the ITA Northeast Regionals at West Point Kandath and  Uberoi defeated Athanasiadis/Linero (BC) 9-8 (5) in the first round.  Check back for updates.

Follow up to yesterdays post.  Anna Dyakiv and the Nichols Bison Women’s Tennis team lost to Endicott in the Conference Championships 5-1.  Endicott took all 3 doubles matches. Anna’s singles match was not a factor in the final match score as they did not finish.  Anna had split sets 6-4, 2-6 and was losing 0-1 in the third set.  I don’t know if she was on serve or down a break.

Cornell, N.Y. – Cheryl Kukkonen recorded two singles wins and combined with Elke Vromans for a doubles victory to lead the UAlbany women’s tennis team at the Cornell Invitational. The competition was a three-day event from Friday, Sept. 14 to Sunday, Sept. 16. The Great Danes saw action against the University at Buffalo and Cornell University. 

After advancing on Friday due to opponent illness in Flight A singles play, Kukkonen defeated Cornell’s Christine Ordway in a three-set victory on Saturday. Winning the first set 6-4, the sophomore was then defeated 1-6 before rebounding for a 6-4 final set win to take the match. She was defeated in the third round by Cornell’s Ryann Young, 1-6, 2-6.

In Flight B doubles competition Kukkonen paired up with freshman teammate Elke Vromans to defeat Buffalo’s Laura Hernandez and Tamara Markovic, 8-3. The win gave the Great Danes third place in the Class B doubles bracket. Vromans had dropped a Flight A singles match to Markovic on Friday, 2-6, 3-6.

UAlbany freshman Cat Crummey came up just short in a three-set Flight B singles match against Cornell’s Christy Kung. Crummey defeated Kung 6-2 in the first set before losing the second set in a 6-6 tiebreaker and the third set 2-6. Junior Rocio Lopez also took her opponent to three sets in a Friday Flight A singles match. Lopez lost 2-6, 6-4, 3-6 to Courtney Malinchak of Cornell.

 

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