BEVERLY, Mass. - Freshman Kasey Walther (Natick, Mass.) celebrated her 18th birthday with a pair of victories to lift the Salve Regina University women's tennis team to a 7-2 victory over Gordon College in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match at the Bass River Tennis Club indoor courts.
Salve Regina took two of the three doubles matches, both victories by an 8-1 score. Walther paired with senior tri-captain Shannon O'Brien (Gorham, Maine) at second doubles for a solid victory while the Seahawk sophomore duo of Elizabeth DiFilippo (West Chester, Pa.) and Meg Olson (Colchester, Vt.) won for the second straight Saturday at third doubles.
Juniors Ana Gwozdz (Taunton, Mass.) and Elizabeth Liguori (Westerly, R.I.) were bested by Lily Drescher (Reading, Mass.) and Sarah Hickey (Stony Brook, N.Y.) in the longest doubles match of the day, at No. 1.
"That was a great match on both sides," said Seahawk head coach Ed Habershaw. "All four players contributed a number of winners. Ana easily had the most winning shots, but the Gordon pair played great defense."
Walther whipped through her first set at No. 1 singles, built a 5-1 lead in the second set, and then was the first one finished after a 6-0,6-3 score over Dreschler.
"I've never seen a player move so fast on the court," said Habershaw. "And by that I mean Kasey was moving quickly between points and on changeovers in addition to during her points. She played steady tennis and produced a good amount of winners and opponent errors for the victory. Her quickness gave her time to cheer on her teammates."
DiFilippo and O'Brien followed next with 6-0,6-0 scores at fourth and fifth singles, respectively. Sophomore Erica Shay (Concord, Mass.) won her second straight match with a straight-set score at No. 6 singles.
Liguori bested Jessie Dupre (North Billerica, Mass.) at third singles (6-4,6-3) for the final Seahawk point. Hickey outlasted Gwozdz in a third-set super tiebreak to claim the second point of the day for Gordon.
"Ana has played great tennis this season with no singles wins to show for it," said Habershaw. "She's got a great attitude and continues to grind out points against great competition."
Salve Regina improves to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Seahawks play a non-league match on Thursday when they host the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth at 3:30 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
Salve Regina vs Gordon
09/29/12 at Beverly, Mass.
(Bass River Tennis Club)
Salve Regina 7, Gordon 2
Singles competition
1. Kasey Walther (SRU) def. Lily Drescher (GC) 6-0, 6-3
2. Sarah Hickey (GC) def. Ana Gwozdz (SRU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)
3. Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) def. Jessie Dupre (GC) 6-4, 6-3
4. Elizabeth DiFilippo (SRU) def. Hannah Damon (GC) 6-0, 6-0
5. Shannon O'Brien (SRU) def. Eva Kenna (GC) 6-0, 6-0
6. Erica Shay (SRU) def. Rachel Kauffman (GC) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Lily Drescher/Sarah Hickey (GC) def. Ana Gwozdz/Elizabeth Liguori (SRU) 9-7
2. Shannon O'Brien/Kasey Walther (SRU) def. Jessie Dupre/Eva Kenna (GC) 8-1
3. Elizabeth DiFilippo/Meg Olson (SRU) def. Hannah Damon/Rachel Kauffman (GC) 8-1
Match Notes:
Salve Regina 4-5; 3-4 CCC
Gordon 3-7; 2-4 CCC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,5,4,6,3,2)
Official: Anne Girian T-3:01 A-25
