Women's Tennis Ready for Competition at Quinnipiac Invitational
9/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's tennis team opens its fall season schedule this weekend at the Quinnipiac Invitational Tournament in Hamden, Conn.
The Pirates are included in a field of seven teams, representing five conferences. Host and defending Northeast Conference champions Quinnipiac are joined by conference mate and in-state rival Sacred Heart. Reigning Patriot League champions Army will also compete as will last year's regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions Fairfield. Rounding out the field is a pair of local teams, Hartford representing the America East Conference and BIG EAST foe Connecticut.
"All of our girls have been training and practicing extremely hard," said fifth year Head Coach Greg Wyzykowski. "Our training sessions have shown an improved level of play and there is no question that our lineup has more depth and quality from top to bottom. This weekend will be a good test of whether we can transition that progress to match play."
The tournament is divided into four separate flights of singles competition and two flights of doubles draws. Each team will place two players in each flight of singles play and two teams in each doubles bracket.
In singles and doubles competition, competing in the "A" flight for the Pirates will be sophomores Pui Wing Sher (Shui Wai, Hong Kong) and Rocío Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico). Last season, Sher brought home the "A" flight crown at the Quinnipiac Invitational, becoming the first SHU player ever to do so. The pair also reached the semifinals in doubles play.
Senior captain Elizabeth Verow (Barnt Green, England) will be joined in the "B" flight draw by freshman Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia). The two will also team to compete in "A" flight doubles play.
Junior Karina Cordero (Maracay Estado Aragua, Venezuela) and senior Courtney Kilarski (Roseville, Calif.) will compete individually in the "C" flight. Cordero will be looking to build on last year's effort that saw her reach the finals of the same draw at the Quinnipiac tournament. The team of Cordero/Kilarski will also lead the Pirates' "B" flight doubles effort. Last season, Cordero also reached the finals of doubles competition, playing with departed senior Belfin Sunbul.
Completing the lineup for The Hall will be a pair of newcomers, Maria Del Rosario Rodriguez (Bogotá, Colombia) and Anna Guryanova (Moscow, Russia). The two will make their collegiate debuts as a part of the "D" flight singles bracket. Rodriguez and Guryanova will team to round out the Pirates' doubles pairings and play in the "B" flight bracket.
"This tournament will benefit our team in a number of ways," Wyzykowski said. "There is a good mix of competition that will serve as an early season barometer for us. Maybe the most important thing though is that all of our girls will have a chance to play, gain experience and build confidence which will be vital as we navigate through a challenging schedule."
The three-day tournament begins Friday, September 16th at 3:00 p.m. on the Mt. Carmel campus of Quinnipiac University and concludes on Sunday night.
