Seton Hall University
No. 10 Butler (Consolation Round)
Tennis Blanks No. 10 Butler to Close Season
4/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2014
FLUSHING, N.Y. - The Seton Hall tennis team closed out the spring season in impressive fashion on Saturday afternoon, posting four straight-set victories to shut out No. 10 Butler, 4-0, in a consolation match at the 2014 BIG EAST Championship presented by NEW YORK LIFE.
The Pirates (12-10) prevailed at the top four singles positions to clinch the win over the Bulldogs (5-18). No doubles matches were played.
Senior Chloe Sher (Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong) was the first Seton Hall player to get on the board, downing Stephanie McLoughlin, 6-2, 6-4 from the top position. The win was the 14th for the senior standout in 21 dual match appearances in 2014 and moves her win total in such matches to 39 over the last three seasons.
After scoring The Hall's lone point in the quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Xavier, sophomore Hannah Liljekvist (Djursholm, Sweden) added a 6-0, 7-6 (4) triumph over Konstantina Adami in the second position. Liljekvist wraps up her first campaign in blue & white with 11 dual match victories and a 6-2 mark in her last eight outings.
In the third spot, senior Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) put her final match in a Pirate uniform in the win column, dominating her matchup with Grace Hyde and dropping only two games en route to victory. In what was the most successful spring of her collegiate career, Portela finishes with 11 dual match wins and a team-high five victories over BIG EAST opponents.
With Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) ahead by one set at #5 and classmate Alex Landert (Naples, Fla.) tied in the first frame of her sixth singles match, sophomore Julia Keenan (Greenland, N.H.) notched the clinching point at #4.
Keenan needed just three more games than the minimum to move past Kailey Eaton, registering a 6-1, 6-2 win to give send the team result in favor of SHU. Keenan continue to emerge as a force in the middle of the lineup during her second year as a Pirate, ranking first on the squad with 23 singles wins between fall and spring competitions and second on the team with 13 dual match victories.
The triumph closes a spring in which the team recorded its highest win total in over a decade (12), three of which came over conference opponents.
No. 4 Seton Hall 4, No. 10 Butler 0
Singles
#1. Chloe Sher (SHU) def. McLoughlin (BU), 6-2, 6-4
#2. Hannah Liljekvist (SHU) def. Adami (BU), 6-0, 7-6 (4)
#3. Rocio Portela (SHU) def. Hyde (BU), 6-1, 6-1
#4. Julia Keenan (SHU) def. Eaton (BU), 6-1, 6-2
#5. Madison Shoemaker (SHU) leading Qin (BU), 6-3
#6. Alex Landert (SHU) tied with Koester (BU), 4-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2, 4
*Consolation Round - no doubles played
