Tennis Competes at ITA Regionals
10/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Four members of the Seton Hall tennis team took the court at the ITA Northeast Regional Tournament on Friday, as play in qualifying singles and the doubles main draw began at the three-day event.
One of two singles entries for SHU, junior Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) was in action as she looked to advance past the qualifying round. In her matchup against Stony Brook’s Becky Shtilkind, the junior was unable to gain an advantage as she fell in straight sets, 4-6, 3-6.
Chloe Sher (Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong) was the other Pirate selected to play singles and received a main draw first round bye. She will begin play in the second round tomorrow against Hannah Cambi of Brown.
Sher and Portela teamed in doubles competition on Friday, one of two SHU tandems to compete on the day. The pair of juniors had opened up a 3-2 lead on Harvard’s Sylvia Li and Amanda Lin when the match was halted by a delay. After the restart, Portela and Sher struggled to regain the upper hand and ultimately dropped a 3-8 decision.
Freshman Julia Keenan (Greenland, N.H.) and sophomore Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) drew a tough first round test as the squared off against Alex Kelleher and Katya Vasilyev of Boston College. Keenan and Shoemaker produced a solid effort, pushing Kelleher and Vasilyev throughout a well-played match. In the end, the duo of SHU underclassmen was ousted after a 4-8 defeat.
Last year, the Boston College program placed 1-2 in doubles at the ITA Tournament.
“We got a little bit of a tough draw today,” said head coach Greg Wyzykowski. “Sometimes that happens and in those circumstances we need to rise to the occasion. We played well and fought hard but today was a good example of why consistency and execution are so important. I think our girls handled themselves well and those that are done, they are ready to go into the winter focused on making the necessary adjustments for us to get where we want to go in the spring.”
Sher will return to the court on Saturday as main draw singles matches begin. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, Oct. 21.
