Updated Oct. 20 at 3:45 pm
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Victories by Allegheny College and Grove City College in Thursday's semifinals means the top two seeds in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Tennis Tournament have advanced to the Championship match and will square off for the title on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Top-seeded Allegheny (10-1) moved on with a 5-1 victory over fourth-seeded Westminster College (10-6) in Meadville, Pa., while the No. 2 seed Grove City (11-3) moved on by defeating visiting third seed Franciscan University (9-4) by a 5-2 score.
With the wins, the Gators and Wolverines advance to Saturday's championship match. The site and start time of the title match has been announced by the conference office. Due to anticipated weather, the match will be held indoors at Westwood Racquet Club in Erie, Pa., and will have a 4 pm start time.
The title tilt will be a rematch of an Oct. 3rd regular season meeting between the programs, won by Allegheny, 7-2. The Gators are seeking their second consecutive PAC title, while the Wolverines are aiming for their 31st PAC crown but their first since 2018.
In Thursday's semifinal, the Gators claimed a pair of doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead into singles play. The duo of senior Jean-Arlette Legrand (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Commonwealth Parkville School) and sophomore Maria Lounder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area) and first-year tandem of Emiliia Grydnieva (Kyiv, Ukraine/Optima) and Rei Etsumi (Honolulu, Hawaii/President William McKinley) won by identical 8-4 scores at second and third doubles, respectively.
Westminster did take the match at first doubles, with junior Gia Francisco (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) and sophomore Christine Rossi (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) winning by an 8-4 count as well.
In singles action, Gator senior Noelle Kidd (Broadview Heights, Ohio/North Royalton) was the first singles player off the court, sweeping both sets to a 6-0, 6-0 win at sixth singles. Likewise, Lounder began her fourth singles match with a 6-0 first-set win and then broke a 3-all tie in the second set by winning the next three games to record a straight-set win of her own.
At one point, it looked like all the remaining matches were headed to a third set. However, Allegheny junior Sabrina Rodriguez (Kissimmee, Fla./Professional and Technical) overcame a 5-2 deficit in her second set to force a seven-point tiebreaker. Rodriguez's hard-fought 6-0, 7-6 (3) victory at No. 3 singles proved to be the deciding match and propelled the Gators back into the championship match.
In the Grove City win over Franciscan, the Wolverines followed a similar script as Allegheny, winning second and third doubles to build a 2-1 lead. The Barons did win at first doubles when senior Maria Herrera (Houston, Texas/Clear Brook) and sophomore Claire Cardy (Dublin, Pa./Archbishop Wood) pulled out an 8-5 triumph.
That was countered by a pair of Grove City wins, with the #2 team of junior Alyssa Good (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) and freshman Catherine Petrovich (Fox Chapel, Pa./IMG Academy-Fla.) posting an 8-6 victory and the #3 duo of sophomore Courtney DeCarlo (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) and frreshman Peyton Joines (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock) winning 8-5
Franciscan posted one singles victory when junior Olivia Colby (Merrimac, Mass./Pentucket Regional) was a 6-1, 6-3 winner at #2, but the Wolverines' victory was clinched with three straight-set victories. Petrovich was a 6-4, 6-1 winner at #1, Good had a 6-1, 6-2 victory at fifth singles and junior Janel McCray (Jessup, Md./Hammond) won by 6-2, 6-2 scores at sixth singles, as Grove City advanced to the championship match for the first time since 2019.