PREVIEW: NE10 Women's Tennis First Round - Saint Anselm at Le Moyne

10/18/2022 6:00:00 PM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's tennis team will return to the six-team Northeast-10 Conference postseason on Wednesday, Oct. 19, taking on Le Moyne College at Elevate Fitness in Syracuse, N.Y. at 1 p.m.

With a 6-1 victory over Saint Michael's to conclude the regular season, Saint Anselm (4-8, 3-5 NE10) qualified for the NE10 postseason for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign. Following a three-team tiebreaker, Le Moyne (8-4, 6-3 NE10) laid claim to the No. 3 seed and the opportunity to host a First Round match.

Each NE10 women's tennis team automatically made the postseason in 2021, but Saturday's result officially locked up the No. 6 seed for the Hawks. Saint Anselm is in search of its first NE10 postseason championship in the sport of women's tennis – the team finished as the runner-up in 2004.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

Last time out, Saint Anselm secured a 6-1 victory over Saint Michael's College in its regular season finale on Saturday. Saint Anselm swept the doubles matches to open the afternoon and would take five of six singles matches in straight sets to earn the overall dual-match triumph.

Sophomore Abigail Svor (Lewiston, Maine) and freshman Camila Heredia Osante (Oaxaca, Mexico) teamed up for their team-leading seventh doubles win of the year as the tandem scored a 6-0 success at the No. 2 post.

Senior Anastasia Kapothanasis (Westbrook, Maine) and sophomore Julia Svor (Lewiston, Maine) partnered for a 6-1 win at the No. 3 hole, with sophomore Olivia Parzick (Bow, N.H.) and freshman Irene Garbo (Assemini, Sardinia, Italy) hanging on for a 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles. Parzick and Garbo improved their overall record to 6-5 as a duo heading into the post-season.

Garbo's 8-4 record at No. 1 singles is the best for a Saint Anselm freshman since Jess Perkins '18 (10-3, 2014-15). With the singles win against Saint Michael's, she now owns the second-best first year win total at No. 1 singles in team history.

Heredia Osante began collegiate career with three consecutive singles victories and began her career with seven doubles wins across her first eight matches.

As a team, the Hawks own a 17-18 record (.486) in doubles play just one season after posting a 16-31 (.340) mark in 2021-22. Saint Anselm won just six doubles fixtures during the 2020-21 season.

SCOUTING LE MOYNE

After posting a 14-6 record in 2021-22 along with a perfect 10-0 mark in NE10 play, Le Moyne has won eight of its 12 matches to date and owns a 5-3 record versus conference opponents in 2022-23.

The Dolphins have dropped close matches to Franklin Pierce and Adelphi, each coming by a 4-3 margin. Southern New Hampshire toppled Le Moyne by a 5-2 score.

Le Moyne has not dropped a match at No. 4 singles this season (12-0) and also owns a respectable 10-1 (.909) mark at No. 6 singles. The Dolphins have combined to posted a 10-14 record at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, combined.

The Dolphins have won 25 of their 35 doubles matches this season, posting a 10-1 record at No. 3.

Paula Casares is a perfect 11-0 in singles play with Fiona Pepper not far behind with an 11-1 record. Alicia Alvarez and Francesca Lilliegren have posted seven singles victories each.

ALL-TIME, LE MOYNE

Le Moyne holds a 16-11 record against Saint Anselm in the all-time series that dates back to Sept. 21, 1996.

The Hawks won six consecutive matches from Oct. 9, 1999 through Mar. 21, 2004.

The Dolphins have won nine of the last 10 meetings against Saint Anselm, including a 6-1 victory over the Hawks on Sunday, Oct. 2.

ALL-TIME, NE10 POSTSEASON PLAY

Le Moyne and Saint Anselm have not faced in postseason play in program history and both teams remain in search of their first NE10 postseason championship.

Since the NE10 postseason switched to a head-to-head team championship format in 1999, the Hawks own a 5-10 record in head-to-head play. Last season, the Hawks faced Bentley and fell by a 4-0 margin on the road.

The Hawks finished as the NE10 runner-up in 2004, beating Saint Michael's by a 5-1 score in the NE10 Semifinals before falling to Bryant in the title game on Apr. 25, 2004. That season, Saint Anselm made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship, falling to Millersville in the First Round.

Le Moyne is 7-13 in the NE10 postseason since joining the league in the 1996-97 season. The Dolphins won the regular-season championship in 2021-22 and finished as the runner-up in the postseason during the 2019-20 campaign.

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