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Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:29 p.m.

Two women’s tennis players take all-conference honors

by The GW Hatchet

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Jake Deitcher.

Junior Leah Pascarella served during a match played earlier this season. Pascarella and Lana Robins were named to the A-10 All-Conference teams Tuesday. Hatchet File Photo by Becky Crowder | Senior Staff Photographer

After a loss in the A-10 semifinals to UMass, the season may be over for the women’s tennis team, but some Colonials are still racking up honors off the court.

Junior Leah Pascarella and freshman Lana Robins were named to the Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis All-Conference team Tuesday. Pascarella earned a first team bid, while Robins notched second team honors.

“We are very excited for Leah and Lana to receive All-Conference awards,” head coach Dawn Buth said in a release. “We are very proud of all of the hard work Leah has put in during her three years. Lana has also been a tremendous addition to our program as her work ethic and determination are second to none.”

Pascarella has now earned A-10 postseason honors for the third straight year, after being named a member of the second team after both her freshman and sophomore seasons.  Pascarella played No. 1 singles and doubles for the Colonials, finishing the season with a 15-14 singles record and a 7-7 doubles mark.

Pascarella was also named A-10 Co-Performer of the Week on Feb. 27, after her victory over UMBC helped lead GW to its fourth straight victory.

Robins enjoyed a strong debut season as a Colonial, where she posted a 15-11 record from the No. 2 singles position, and an 8-8 record, also from the No.2 doubles slot.  Her three straight doubles victories helped GW take home the Georgetown Fall Classic doubles title this fall.

Together, the pair compiled an overall record of 11-8 and a conference record of 4-1 at the Nos. 1 and 2 singles and doubles slots, respectively.

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Saturday, April 20, 2013 12:56 p.m.

Season ends in A-10 semis for women’s tennis

by The GW Hatchet

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Nora Princiotti.

The sixth-seeded Colonials rallied hard after falling behind 1-3, but the third-seeded Minutewomen ultimately closed the door on GW’s season, 4-2, Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis Championship.

Junior Leah Pascarella serves the ball during a match played earlier this season. Pascarella was one of two Colonials to win her semifinals singles match. Hatchet File Photo by Becky Crowder | Senior Staff Photographer

After sweeping doubles play, Massachusetts held an early lead over GW. Now down 1-3, junior Leah Pascarella and freshman Lana Robins tried to start a Colonials’ comeback, each forcing extra sets after dropping the first set. Pascarella completed her comeback and defeated Sonia Bokhari 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Robins was going strong in her third set against Yuliana Motyl, leading by 5-0, but a UMass victory in the No. 4 spot, clinched a semifinals bid for the Minutewomen. GW’s only other point came by way of freshman Christina Carpenter’s 7-6, 6-2 victory over the Minutewomen’s Chantal Swiszcz in the No. 6 singles.

Despite the season-ending loss, head coach Dawn Buth was proud of her team’s perseverance.

“UMass is well-coached and has played consistently strong doubles this year, but our mental toughness in the singles nearly clinched the match for us,” Buth said.  “Christie and Leah dug down deep with wins at No.1 and No.6 while Lana was up 5-0 in the third set at the No. 2 position.”

The Colonials closed the season with an overall record of 11-8. GW is set to return six of this years players next year, losing only graduating seniors Mimi Hamling and Dorota Lysenia.

“I’m very proud of the way our team competed throughout the season and also the way they represented GW,” Buth said. “We are very proud of who this team is and what they have accomplished this year. We’re also very proud of our seniors, Mimi and Dorota, for their leadership and for all they’ve give to GW and to the team in their four years.”

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Sunday, March 31, 2013 7:49 p.m.

Women’s tennis team defeats Temple

by Elizabeth Traynor

Junior Leah Pascarella serves the ball Saturday afternoon during a match played on the Mount Vernon Campus. Becky Crowder | Senior Staff Photographer

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Josh Solomon.

The Colonials were finally able to play an outdoor match at home, and it garnered some extra mojo for the team, which captured a victory over A-10 rival Temple for the first time since 2006.

GW (9-5, 3-1) earned a 5-2 victory against the Owls (8-6, 2-2) with aggressive play throughout all of its matches, winning two out of three doubles matches and four out of six singles matches.

“It’s terrific. It’s also another kind of feather in our belt in the A-10 conference so it’s just a nice confidence builder and it’s always great to play on our home court,” head coach Dawn Buth said. “That was just really exciting for us.”

Junior Leah Pascarella and senior Mimi Hamling played an aggressive game, winning their No. 1 doubles match 8-3. They used a strong rally game, as Pascarella blasted the ball past the Temple tandem while Hamling skillfully sliced the ball and used a drop shot to their advantage.

After finishing prior to the beginning of other doubles matches, they motivated their teammates, seeing an opportunity to win the round. The No. 3 matchup shortly ended as the freshmen duo of Christina Carpenter and Stephanie Wei dropped their match to an exhausting 9-7 score. But in the No. 2, senior Dorota Lysienia and freshman Lana Robins battled to win 8-6 to the crowd’s delight.

“We just really focused on bringing our energy level really high,” Buth said. “If you were to replay that match again, you would see our energy way outweigh Temple’s in the first few games, and it made a huge difference.”

In singles play,  Pascarella worked through a 7-5 first set, shouting in triumph on tough points and then cruised through a 6-1 second set as her opponent, junior Alicia Doms, seemed to tire out and became frustrated with her play, slamming her racket at the end of the match.

It turned out to be a clear victory for Pascarella – the first set was not easy, though.

“I knew that [high energy] was something I was going to need to do from the beginning. [Doms is] usually an aggressive player. Today she was staying more consistent. So I knew I was going to have to be the one to be aggressive,” Pascarella said.

Robins won her No. 2 singles match easily to a score of 6-2, 6-4. Meanwhile, Hamling’s No. 4 win secured the team victory as GW went on to watch Carpenter finish out the match and win in a tiebreaker 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (6-0), capitalizing on a good showing for the freshmen.

“They’ve been really terrific. Lana’s just been a super consistent performer. Just everyday she’s going to work her tail off and just fight,” Buth said. “Steph’s just a remarkable athlete and has really incredible potential and then Christy at the six spot, again, just fighting her tail off.”

The win over Temple meant a lot to senior Hamling, who said that it’s “very relieving” to finish her time in a Colonial uniform with a victory over the Owels.

Hamling said the victory also signified to the Colonials how important it would be to keep playing with the same intensity as they look forward to another home game against East Carolina, and one more A-10 match against Fordham, before the A-10 championship.

“Just keep it going. Just keep focusing on what I can control, being there for the team and putting all of my energy to everything I got, all of my matches,” Hamling said.

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Monday, March 25, 2013 9:03 p.m.

Women’s tennis team defeats Morgan State

by Elizabeth Traynor

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Kimberly Shi.

After experiencing upsets over the last three matches, including a loss on Saturday, GW had a strong finish to the weekend’s play with a 5-2 victory against Morgan State Sunday. Due to impending inclement weather, the match was moved to the indoor Montclair County Club in Virginia.

The Colonials swept doubles play and ended Morgan State’s four-match winning streak in singles play.

“We need to continue on improving and sustaining a level of urgency if we want to accomplish our goals this season,” head coach Dawn Buth said, “We had a strong start this season jumping off to a 7-2 record and our players met as a team last week to identify key areas that needed adjustments

With a triumph in every doubles match, No. 1 tandem of senior Mimi Hamling and junior Leah Pascarella started the trend by coming out on top with an 8-5 win against Mi’Kola Cooper and Chelsi Russell.  Following this was the No. 2 and 3 doubles match, where senior Dorota Lysienia and freshman Lana Robins defeated Jasmine Edwards and Ekaterina Lakovleva 8-2 and Christina Carpenter and Stephanie Wei, a rookie duo, overpowered Arina Alilueva and Margarita Belyakova 8-5.

During the singles play, Robins blanked Mi’Kola Cooper, 6-0, in the first set before Cooper retired. Afterwards, Wei won a three-set victory against Russell with scores of 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and this was followed by the No. 4 match, where Carpenter blanked Edwards, No. 6, in the first set followed by a 2-0 advantage before Edwards retired.

“We’ve put together a plan to move forward, but in order to meet our short term goals we’ll need absolute commitment from each of our eight team members,” Buth said. “In addition, our upperclassmen will need to understand and prioritize their leadership role as a critical piece of our success.”

It’s going to be a challenging match next week as the Colonials face off against Temple, their Atlantic 10 foe, Saturday.

“Temple is ranked 4 in the pre-season A-10 polls,” Buth said. “We have a great opportunity this Saturday to gain footing in the top of the conference. We’ll be focusing on movement, defensive conversions and creating competitive and high urgency practice environments. “

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Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 9:01 p.m.

Weekend Wrap-up

by Nick Ong

A lot of Colonial sports teams were in action this weekend. Here’s a look at what we couldn’t fit on the page:

Men’s Squash

The Colonials went into play at the College Squash Association Team Nationals looking to defend their championship title from last year.

In its first matchup of the weekend, GW scratched away a 5-4 victory over No.23 Hamilton. The team picked up straight set wins from freshman James Reiss at the No.3 position and junior Chris Bell at the No.9 to jump out to an early lead.  With the score tied late 4-4 though, it was senior Omar Sobhy’s win at the No.1 position that ultimately clinched the match for the Colonials.

In Saturday’s semi-final match against host Wesleyan, the Colonials ended on the opposite side of a close match, falling to the Cardinals 5-4.  Reiss and freshman Reid Breck again picked up early wins, and heading into the final two matches, the Colonials held a 3-2 advantage. But two five-set losses ended GW’s shot at a repeat and instead sent the Cardinals to thecChampionship match.

Looking to rebound in Sunday’s season ending match, the Colonials defeated Bowdoin, 5-4, giving them third place in the Championships and a final national ranking of No.20.  For the third straight day Sobhy won his No.1 position, this time again to close out the match for GW.  The win brings his senior year record to 18-3 and brings his career wins total to 58- the all-time high at GW.

Breck, too, finished out the weekend undefeated, bringing his debut season victory tally to 19, the most on the team.

 

Women’s Tennis

The Colonials won their fourth straight match over the weekend, defeating UMBC 5-2 on Sunday.

GW grabbed the first point of the match with wins at the No.1 and No.2 doubles slots.  Senior Mimi Hamling and Leah Pascarella defeated their No.1 opponents 8-1, while senior Dorota Lysienia and freshman Lana Robins grabbed a comeback 8-5 victory at the No.2.

In singles action, the Colonials took home wins in the Nos. 1-4 spots, quickly closing out the match.  Pascarella continued her dominance, giving up only a single set in her 6-0, 6-1 victory at the No.1 position.

 

Men’s Tennis

GW defeated two nationally ranked opponents this weekend, dominating No. 61 South Alabama by a score of 6-1, and then defeating No. 60 Georgia State, 4-2.

In doubles action against South Alabama, junior Ulrik Thomsen and senior Alexander van Glis combined for a 8-3 victory at the No.1 spot, while sophomore Francisco Dias and senior Leonardo Lapentti earned a hard-fought 9-7 victory in the No.3 position.

Dias moved on to win his No.1 singles match 6-4, 6-4 over No.49 ranked David Leitner.  The rest of the Colonials went on to win four out of the remaining five singles matches, including a 6-2, 6-2 win from freshman Danil Zelenkov and a 6-0, 6-2 win from Thomsen in the final match.

Sunday’s match against Georgia State opened differently, with the six singles matches going first.  Junior Nikita Fomin defeated his No.2 opponent 6-3, 6-0, while Zelenkov and Thomsen also captured victories again.  In a down to the wire finale, Lapentti won his No.5 position by a score of 7-6, 7-5, closing out the win for the Colonials.

GW will faced another ranked opponent next weekend in a rematch against No.46 Columbia.

 

Women’s Water Polo

The Colonials went 3-1 over weekend action, dropping their first match to Wagner before bouncing back for three straight wins against Villanova, Siena and Iona.

In their first match of the CWPA/MAAC Crossover, GW let Wagner get out to a commanding 5-1 lead and never pulled within closer of three goals, as they fell 15-10.

The Colonials found their groove in the next match against Villanova, matching a school record for goals scored as they defeated the Wildcats, 23-18.  Junior Megan Brolley also matched the program’s mark for points in a game, tallying nine points on six goals and three assists.  In addition to Brolley’s contributions, freshman Hannah Cox recorded a career-high five goals and sophomore Meagan Moreland grabbed a career-best six points on four goals and two assists.  For the game, the Colonials went 9-of-11 on man-up opportunities.

In the second day of action, GW jumped out to a 7-1 lead against Siena, eventually extending it to a 10-1 margin, before reaching the final score of 11-7.  Cox scored a team best four goals in the game, while sophomore goalkeeper Chandler Vilander had seven saves in three quarters of play.

In a much more contested match against Iona, the Colonials outscored the Gaels 4-1 in the final period to break a 9-9 tie and grab the win 13-10.  Cox again led the team with five goals, while junior Katherine Berry recorded a hat trick.

Cox finished the weekend with 18 goals, making up almost a third of the Colonial’s offensive attack.

 

Gymnastics

Despite finishing in fourth place at Maryland’s quad meet this past weekend, the Colonials posted a season-high team score, 194.825, as well as a season-high score in floor exercise, 49.100.

Host Maryland took the event with a score of 195.600, followed by Bridgeport (195.200) and Pittsburgh (194.875).

In addition to the two season-high marks, the Colonials also matched their best marks of the season on uneven bars, 48.675, and vault, 48.650.

Junior Betsy Zander placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 39.075- only her second time breaking 39.000 this season.  Sophomore Courtney Willoughby tied for 10th on the balance beam with 9.700, and then went on to post a career-high 9.85p on floor exercise to earn herself fourth place.

Senior Stephanie Stoicovy also placed fifth behind Zander in the all-around with 38.825.

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Monday, Feb. 18, 2013 6:42 p.m.

Weekend wrap-up

by Elizabeth Traynor

Senior captain Stephanie Stoicovy goes through her balance beam routine. Hatchet File Photo by Jordan Emont | Photo Editor

A lot of Colonial sports teams were in action this weekend. Here’s a look at what couldn’t fit on the sports page:

Gymnastics

GW finished in fourth of six teams at the Sweetheart Invitational this weekend.

Its best event as a team was the balance beam, where the Colonials scored a cumulative 48.750. GW was paced by senior Stephanie Stoicovy, who finished fourth in the all-around with 38.975, including 9.875 on floor exercise, which was good enough to tie her for third in that category.

Sophomore Elena Corcoran tied for third on the vault with a 9.775 and senior Kayla Carto tied for third on the balance beam with a 9.850.

Women’s water polo

The Colonials went 2-2 this weekend, defeating Bucknell and Villanova but dropping to Marist and Hartwick.

GW defeated Bucknell in its opening match of the weekend 10-9, off the offensive strength of freshman Erin Donoghue, who scored a career-best five goals. Sophomore goalkeeper Chandler Vilander kept the Colonials in the game with six saves. Later that day, GW fell to Hartwick 23-12. Junior Katherine Berry paced GW with four goals, and fellow junior Rachel Bentley added six points on three goals and three assists.

The next day, the Colonials opened play with a 10-6 loss to Marist, which scored three unanswered goals down the stretch to take a 5-3 lead into halftime. From there, they pulled away, holding GW to just 6-27 shots on the game, despite Vilander recording a season-high 11 saves. But it was the Colonials’ offense’s turn to shine against Villanova, led by Donoghue, who tallied a hat trick. GW pulled away decisively to take that game 11-6.

Women’s Squash

The Colonials competed in the CSA Team Nationals this weekend, making it to the Consolation Finals before falling to Williams College in their final match of the season, 8-1.

In the team’s first match of the championships, freshman Anna Gabriela Porras was the only Colonial to pick up a win, defeating her No.1 opponent Catherine Jenkins 11-4, 11-6, 11-8.  Unfortunately, the rest of the squad did not fair so well, ultimately falling to Columbia 8-1.

Continuing competition in the Consolation Semifinals, the Colonials faced off against Amherst, winning the match 7-2.  Porras again won her No.1 match in straight sets, along with freshman Alexa Tzarnas and junior Elizabeth Tapley who won their No. 6 and 5 matches, respectively.

In what would be their final match of the season, the Colonials were defeated by Williams College, 8-1.  Repeating Friday’s performance, the Colonials gave no help to Porras, who tallied the only win for GW.  Porras went undefeated on the weekend and finished her inaugural season with a 16-4 record.

The team concludes the season ranked as the No.14 team in the CSA. Porras and junior Jackie Shea will move on to represent the Colonials at the CSA Individual National Championships, March 1-3.

 

Men’s Tennis

The Colonials went into action at the ECAC Indoor Championship this weekend, finishing play with a 1-2 record.

On Friday, the team fell to No.42 Columbia, 4-2.  Junior Nikita Fomin defeated his No.2 singles opponent 6-2,6-4, while fellow junior Viktor Svensson earned a victory in his No.6 match, 6-3, 7-6.  In doubles action, Columbia earned points in the No.1 and 2 matches, garnering enough points for the overall victory.

The Colonials pulled the upset on Saturday, defeating No.59 Dartmouth 4-3.  It was the highest ranked team the Colonials have defeated since head coach Greg Munoz took over seven seasons ago.  In the No.2 doubles match, Fomin and freshman Danil Zelenkov defeated their opponent 8-5, while sophomore Francisco Dias and senior Leonardo Lapentti won their No.3 doubles match 8-2.  In singles play, Dias and Fomin won their No.1 and No.2 matches, respectively, setting up junior Urlik Thomsen to clinch the match with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win.

In the fifth-place match, the Colonials were swept by Yale, 4-0.  The loss left the team in sixth place for the tournament.

 

Women’s Tennis

The Colonials opened up A-10 play this weekend with a 6-1 win over Saint Joseph’s.

GW swept doubles play, holding the Hawks to a combined four points and earning the first three points before heading into singles action.  The team was just as dominant in singles action, losing just the No. 1 match.  Freshman Lana Robins got GW back on track with a win in the No.2 position, followed by wins from freshman Stephanie Wei and senior Mimi Hamling in the No.3 and 4 spots, respectively.  Senior Dorota Lysienia and junior Isabella Escobar closed out the matches with wins of their own.

The team stayed perfect on their first weekend of conference play with a 4-3 win over Duquesne.  GW earned two out of three doubles victories, with wins from the pairs of Lysienia and Robins, and Wei and freshman Christina Carpenter.  In singles play, junior Leah Pascarella defeated her No.1 opponent 6-3, 7-5, while Wei and Hamling followed behind with wins in the No.3 and 4 slots to close out the match.

 

Sailing

In their first match of the spring session, the Colonials climbed three spots from their Day 1 position to finish the College of Charleston Coed Spring Intersectional in 12th place.

The team earned their 12th place finish with a combined 181 points total.  Winning the even was host and third ranked College of Charleston, with a total of 58 points.

Freshman Maria Sinagra, sophomore Matthew Ricci and senior Richard Sant teamed together to finish 8th in the B Division with 69 points.  Senior Ian Conner and seniors Rebecca Engel and Skye Kussmann earned a total of 112 points to place 16th overall in the A Division.

- By Elizabeth Traynor and Nick Ong

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Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013 9:24 a.m.

Women’s tennis senior earns Performer of the Week Award

by Nick Ong

Senior Mimi Hamling was named the Atlantic 10 women’s tennis performer of the week Monday.

tennis, mimi, hamling

Senior Mimi Hamling reaches for a hit at a game against Saint John’s University last season. Hatchet File Photo

Hamling earned the award after going undefeated in weekend action, winning both her singles and doubles matches, while leading the Colonials to a 1-1 weekend.

Against Georgetown Saturday, Hamling nabbed a three-set victory over the Hoya’s No.3 singles position, Madeline Jaegar, by scores of 7-5, 1-6, 6-1.  Despite Hamling’s efforts, the Colonials would go on to lose to the cross-town rival Hoyas 4-3.

Looking for a different outcome Sunday against George Mason, Hamling did her part, holding her opponents scoreless on the day as GW successfully swept the Patriots, 7-0.  Teamed up with junior Leah Pascarella at the No.2 doubles position, the duo easily downed GMU’s Ashley Delaney and Maya Hicks, 8-0.  Later, this time at the No. 4 singles spot, Hamling blanked her Patriot’s opponent, Kiersten Pappas, 6-0, 6-0.

This marks the first Performer of the Week award for Hamling, despite having earned the league’s Rookie Performer of the Week three times during her freshman season in 2009-10.

Hamling now looks to lead the Colonials into their first A-10 matches of the season, as they take on Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, Feb. 16, and Duquesne on Sunday, Feb. 17.

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Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 6:53 p.m.

Weekend wrap-up

by Elizabeth Traynor

Then- sophomore Leah Pascarella prepares to volley the ball back to her opponent earlier last season. | Hatchet File Photo

We didn’t have room on our page today for all of the Colonial sports that were in action this weekend. Here’s a glimpse at how they fared:

Women’s tennis

The Colonials opened fall competition this weekend, defeating Howard and Saint Joseph’s Friday but fell to Delaware Saturday.

At the Tiger Classic, teams competed in four singles matches and one doubles match for five total points. GW opened with a 3-2 win over Howard off the strength of singles victories from junior Leah Pascarella and a default victory at the No. 4 slot due to a small Bison roster. Senior Mimi Hamling and freshman Lana Robins teamed up to take the doubles point 8-2.

Next, GW defeated A-10 rival Saint Joseph’s 3-2 later in the afternoon. Hamling secured a victory at the No. 2 slot, followed by a win from freshman Christina Carpenter at the No. 4 slot. Pascarella teamed up with freshman Egle Jackciunaite for an 8-5 doubles win to secure the match victory.

Saturday, the Colonials dropped a 3-2 match to Delaware and had its second two contests of the day canceled due to rain. Freshman Stephanie Wei took  a victory at the No. 4 singles slot, after her opponent retired due to injury after the first set, but was the only GW player to win in singles competition. Hamling and Robins took a doubles victory later in the match but it wasn’t enough to overcome Delaware’s three singles points.

Men’s water polo

GW struggled at the Princeton Invitational this weekend, dropping four straight matches.

The Colonials fell to No. 2 UCLA early Saturday, dropping 22-4 after briefly tying the game at four early in the first quarter. The Bruins pushed to a commanding victory largely on a strong third period, when they scored eight goals. Junior Nate Little led the way for GW with two goals, and senior goalkeeper Cameron Illes recorded 12 saves.

Later in the day, GW fell to MIT 12-6. Again, the score was tied after a quarter, but the Colonials’ foul trouble in the second period gave their opponents a valuable advantage, allowing MIT to outscore GW 6-2 in the second half. Graduate student Milos Purkovic scored twice, and Illes made 10 stops in the cage.

The Colonials didn’t fare any better Sunday afternoon, falling to Brown 11-3 to open the day’s competition. It was close through the first quarter, but the Bears scored six straight goals to pull ahead. Junior Daniel Tyner paced GW with two goals, and sophomore Brian Mojica added the third.

GW’s final game against Fordham also begin with a close score, but the Rams soon pulled away, scoring seven straight goals to take a 10-2 lead. The Colonials picked up some offensive heat to outscore Fordham 6-1 in the fourth period, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the eventual final tally, dropping 11-8. Little lead GW with four goals, while Tyner added two and four ejections drawn.

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Thursday, May 3, 2012 2:29 p.m.

Two women’s tennis players earn all-conference nods

by Elizabeth Traynor

Sophomore Leah Pascarella prepares to volley the ball back to her opponent earlier this season. Hatchet File Photo

Women’s tennis team senior Jacqueline Corba and sophomore Leah Pascarella are among the Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis All-Conference Teams, with Corba earning a spot on the first team and Pascarella nabbing a second team nod.

With the award, Corba earns her third straight first team nomination, and fourth postseason honor after she was named to the second team as a freshman. She is the fourth Colonial in program history to earn four straight all-conference awards.

This season, Corba earned a 14-11 record at No. 11 singles and a 17-4 mark in doubles, including a 12-4 record at the No. 3 doubles slot with senior Meg Tyner.

Pascarella picks up her second straight postseason honor after a second team nod last year. This season, she totaled a 16-10 overall singles record, including a 10-4 mark at the No. 2 slot. She teamed up with fellow sophomore Isabella Escobar at No. 2 doubles, picking up a 12-9 record.

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Sunday, April 15, 2012 6:08 p.m.

Women’s tennis picks up Senior Day win to close regular season

by Elizabeth Traynor

Sophomore Leah Pascarella prepares to volley the ball back to her opponent. The Colonials faced off against St. Joseph's over the weekend. Samuel Klein | Hatchet Photographer

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Nicholas Ong

The Colonials served up an ace for Senior Day, finishing their regular season by defeating A-10 foe Saint Joseph’s 6-1.

It was GW’s fourth consecutive victory, and the lone point the Hawks scored was just the second point the Colonials allowed in four matches. The win also ended Saint Joesph’s own three-match win streak.

Getting off to a quick start, the Colonials swept all three doubles matches, just as they did in their last match against Longwood April 6. At the No. 1 spot, junior Mimi Hamling and senior Zoe Krohn defeated their opponents 8-2, after first having to compensate for Saint Joseph’s style of play.

“We haven’t played too many teams who serve and volley a lot,” Krohn said. “So we adjusted by hitting a lot of short balls right at their feet, which made it hard for them to hit when they were trying to volley.”

Sophomores Isabella Escobar and Leah Pascarella won their No. 2 doubles game 8-6, while seniors Meg Tyner and Jacqueline Corba finished off their opponents with a score of 8-3.

Now with an lead, the Colonials sought the same success in singles play. Succumbing the only loss of the day was No. 1 singles player Corba, who stormed out to a 6-0 first set victory, but then faltered in the deciding sets 3-6 and 1-6, respectively.

“I was playing really well the first set, moving forward and attacking,” Corba said.  “Second set [Hawks opponent Casey Robinson] came out strong in the beginning with some tough points.  I’m just really excited that our team won today.”

The remaining singles games went more smoothly for GW, as Pascarella posted her fourth straight win with a 6-3, 6-0 mark in the No. 2 slot. Sophomore Julia Blakeley got the win at No. 3 by a score of 6-4, 6-3, while Hamling took her second victory of the day with a mark of 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 4 position.

Rounding out the Colonials’ dominant singles play, Escobar kept the team going with a 6-3, 6-0 win in the No. 5 spot, and Tyner finished competition with a victory at No. 6, 6-1, 6-3.

“Leah in her singles was definitely close in the first set and she made some adjustments and did a terrific job,” head coach Dawn Buth said. “The great thing about Saint Joe’s is they’re really great counter punchers and they run down everything, so you gotta hand it to them.”

The win marked the final home match for seniors Tyner, Krohn, and three-year captain Corba. Tyner posted consistent scores over her tenure at GW, mostly at the No .5 and No. 6 singles positions, including a 13-6 record during her sophomore year after returning from injury.

Krohn spent the last three years as a piece of the No. 1 doubles team, nabbing a team-best doubles record of 15-7. Corba, who’s played as the No. 1 singles player since her sophomore year, earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team honors for the past two seasons.

Next week, the Colonials move on to the A-10 tournament in Charlottesville, Va., where they hope to improve on their fourth place finish from last season.

“The team is really excited and they’re really a committed and united team,” Buth said.  “I think they positioned themselves to be in the best place possible moving into A-10’s next week.”

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