MILTON, Mass. - Curry College women's tennis ended a 26-match losing streak to Salve Regina University with an 8-1 win over the visiting Seahawks in Milton, Mass., during a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match.
"We escaped with two 5-4 victories at home last season," said Seahawk head coach Ed Habershaw, who guided the program to 22 of those 26 straight victories over the Colonels. "Coach (Richard) Murray has done a terrific job with his program. They came to our Grass Court Doubles Tournament at the Hall of Fame and captured the team championship with aggressive net play. They continued that today. I was happy with our effort but our players know we can improve quite a bit with aggressiveness in doubles."
Both teams evened their records at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Salve Regina senior Karlee Walther (Natick, Mass.) improved to 4-0 in singles on the season with a 7-5,6-0 win over Lauren Chuha (Reading, Mass.). "Always a steady player, Karlee has added some offense to her game and finishes off points very effectively," remarked Habershaw.
"We were doing a lot of good things in our singles matches," continued Habershaw. "Ana (Gwozdz) at No. 1 moved a lot better in this outing than in her previous match. Liz (Liguori) thoroughly dominated her first set at No. 2. Filly (Elizabeth DiFilippo) displayed a wicked forehand that's only going to get better. Shannon (O'Brien) matched up with a similarly-styled player at No. 5 and hit plenty of flat forehands for winners. Erica (Shay) won three straight games in her second set after trailing 5-0, showing a tenacity that is contagious with her teammates."
Salve Regina returns to the hard courts on Thursday when it hosts defending conference champion Endicott College at 3:30 p.m. in Newport. On Saturday, the Seahawks host the 28th annual Women's Grass Court Doubles Championships on the historic courts of the Tennis Hall of Fame.
Curry 8, Salve Regina 1
09/11/12 at Milton, Mass. (Curry College)
Singles competition
1. Megan Mulrooney (CC) def. Ana Gwozdz (SRU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Emily Mongello (CC) def. Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (10-7)
3. Kimberly Love (CC) def. Elizabeth DiFilippo (SRU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Karlee Walther (SRU) def. Lauren Chuha (CC) 7-5, 6-0
5. Devin Curley (CC) def. Shannon O'Brien (SRU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Elizabeth Zarkades (CC) def. Erica Shay (SRU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Emily Mongello/Megan Mulrooney (CC) def. Elizabeth DiFilippo/Meg Olson (SRU) 8-0
2. Lauren Chuha/Kimberly Love (CC) def. Ana Gwozdz/Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) 8-4
3. Devin Curley/Elizabeth Zarkades (CC) def. Shannon O'Brien/Erica Shay (SRU) 8-6
Match Notes
Salve Regina 2-2, 1-1 CCC
Curry 2-2, 1-1 CCC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,4,5,6,3,2)
Official: David Keane T-3:04 A-55
