Seton Hall University
ITA Northeast Regional
Tennis Closes Fall at ITA Northeast Championship
10/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
HANOVER, N.H. - The Seton Hall women's tennis team closed its fall slate of the weekend with half of the Pirates roster in senior captain Hannah Liljekvist (Djursholm, Sweden), sophomore Luize Strike (Riga, Latvia) and freshmen Anicka Fajnorova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and Thandy Kangwa (Fort Myers, Fla.) receiving an invitation to play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Championship hosted by Dartmouth College.
Liljekvist, a three-time invitee, Strike and Kangwa all competed in both singles and doubles while Fajnorova earned a berth in the doubles draw alongside her fellow freshman.
On the opening day of play, Strike jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first set of her qualifying singles match against Jacqueline Fitz-Randolph (Connecticut) but was slowed by injuries and ultimately dropped the first frame, 5-7. Strike battled back to take the second, 6-2, despite not being at full strength but Fitz-Randolph capitalized in the third to seal a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 win.
Kangwa drew Army's Kirby Einck in qualifying singles competition and pushed the second set to a tiebreak in spite of the reemergence of an ailment that has hampered her throughout the first two months of her collegiate career. Einck eventually prevailed by a 6-3, 7-6 (4) score.
The second day of competition brought the start of doubles play where Kangwa and Fajnorova went up against Gabriella Bowe and Mara Martinez-Santori of St. Bonaventure but were unable to get past the Bonnies' top pair in an 8-3 defeat.
The duo of Liljekvist and Strike opened with a win in a showdown with the tandem of Delia Arranz and Stephanie Elgegren representing BIG EAST rival St. John's, ousting the Red Storm pair with an 8-2 victory.
The following round featured a matchup with Stony Brook's Louise Badoche and Nadia Smergut and after falling behind 4-1, Liljekvist and Strike rallied to pull within one at 6-5 but could pull no closer in an 8-5 setback.
Liljekvist was also in action in the singles main draw but was upended by Connecticut's Srna Stosljevic in a 6-3, 6-2 loss.
Head Coach Greg Wyzykowski on the tournament:
On qualifying singles matches: "Both Luize and Thandy did an excellent job of battling through some physical issues. Luize was ahead in the first and came back to win the second. As for Thandy, she continued to show she is a fighter as she has in other fall tournaments. A healthy Thandy will be a huge asset to our team in the spring."
On doubles competition: "Thandy played as hard as her body allowed and Anicka continues to develop as a doubles player. I think this opportunity to play on such a stage will only help them moving forward. Luize and Hannah put forth a very strong performance in defeating a team from a conference opponent and showed some great confidence and determination in the match with Stony Brook despite the result."
On captain Hannah Liljekvist: "Hannah showed flashes of the brilliance we know she is capable of but just wasn't able to string together enough back-to-back points. To her credit, she managed her emotions well and continued to try and find a way back into the match until the very last point which is exactly what you look for in a team leader."
