NEWPORT, R.I. - Junior Shannon O'Brien (Gorham, Maine) clinched the team decision with a 6-2,6-2 win at fourth singles as Salve Regina University women's tennis defeated visiting Western New England University, 5-4, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match. O'Brien had earlier paired with her senior teammate Nichol Stevens (Chester, Conn.), a co-captain, for a crucial point with an 8-4 score at second doubles.
The Seahawks earned their first-ever win over the Golden Bears in Newport and improved to 4-3 in the all-time series. The victory also clinched the No. 4 seed for Salve Regina (7-4; 5-3 CCC) in the conference playoffs which start Tuesday (2 p.m.) against No. 5 Curry College.
Salve Regina's third doubles tandem of sophomores Ana Gwozdz (Taunton, Mass.) and Elizabeth Liguori (Westerly, R.I.) earned the first point of the day with an 8-2 victory. Golden Bear seniors Nicole DeSimone (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and Caitlin Hughes (Springfield, Mass.) matched that score against Seahawk freshmen Elizabeth DiFilippo (West Chester, Pa.) and Meg Olson (Colchester, Vt.) at first doubles.
O'Brien and Stevens, who was saluted in her final regular-season home match, had a 4-1 lead before seniors Christina Barbarisi (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and Jessica Haffner (Suffield, Conn.) won three of the next four games. The Salve Regina duo finished strong with wins in the next three games for the point.
Seahawk junior Karlee Walther (Natick, Mass.) had started her match with Alysha Lesiuer (Hudson, N.H.) at fifth singles since the pairing was not involved in doubles competition. Walther took a 6-0,6-2 victory for Salve Regina's third point. Liguori won her team-leading seventh singles match of the season to boost the home team advantage to 4-1.
DeSimone survived a close first set with DiFilippo at second singles, winning 7-5 in the tiebreak, and then rolled to a 6-1 second-set score. Haffner edged the visitors closer with a straight-set win over Gwozdz at third singles shortly before O'Brien put the finishing touches on Barbarisi at fourth singles. Barbarisi, who owned a 4-3 mark at first singles before today's match, struggled with a knee injury.
The Seahawk victory also marked a milestone for head coach Ed Habershaw, winning his 200th match in his 18th season at the helm of the women's program (200-87; .697).
"Wow, have I been here that long?" joked Habershaw. "Just kidding, today was about Nickie Stevens and celebrating her four years with the school and the program. The seasons go by and players come and graduate, but once a Seahawk always a Seahawk! She means so much to our history and our traditions. Nickie has so much passion and love for this game. It was great seeing her former doubles partner, Valerie Leso '11, return for today's match."
"The win was a great birthday present for Coach," said Stevens, as Habershaw turned 48. "I only added a few more gray hairs with all these close matches," finished Habershaw.
Western New England (4-5; 2-5 CCC) finishes its regular season with a home match for its four seniors against Eastern Nazarene tomorrow. The Golden Bears earned the No. 6 seed and will travel to No. 3 Roger Williams on Tuesday.
Tennis Match Results
Western New England vs Salve Regina
10/07/11 at Newport, R.I.
(Leroy Avenue courts)
Salve Regina 5, Western New England 4
Singles competition
1. Caitlin Hughes (WNE) def. Nichol Stevens (SRU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Nicole DeSimone (WNE) def. Elizabeth DiFilippo (SRU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
3. Jessica Haffner (WNE) def. Ana Gwozdz (SRU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Shannon O'Brien (SRU) def. Christina Barbarisi (WNE) 6-2, 6-2
5. Karlee Walther (SRU) def. Alysha Lesieur (WNE) 6-0, 6-2
6. Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) def. Valerie Conway (WNE) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Nicole DeSimone/Caitlin Hughes (WNE) def. Elizabeth DiFilippo/Meg Olson (SRU) 8-2
2. Shannon O'Brien/Nichol Stevens (SRU) def. Christina Barbarisi/Jessica Haffner (WNE) 8-4
3. Ana Gwozdz/Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) def. Kelsey Grode/Lori Pagliano (WNE) 8-2
Match Notes:
Western New England 4-5; 2-5 CCC
Salve Regina 7-4; 5-3 CCC
Order of finish: Doubles (,1,3,2); Singles (5,6,2,3,4,1)
Official: Douglas Chapman T-3:01 A-111
