Women's Tennis Set to Face Yeshiva in Skyline Semis on Friday
Written by Joshua Soto (SJC-LI Sports Information)
Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I) women's tennis team enters Friday's Skyline Conference Championship as the #3 seed, looking to claim the program's first conference championship a year after falling to Farmingdale St. in the 2015 final.
The Golden Eagles will face #2 Yeshiva University in the semifinals on Wednesday afternoon, a side where they won back on September 28.
St. Joseph's is led by freshman Kerri McMahon who went 11-1 in singles play this year, and went 10-2 in doubles when paired with classmate Emily Portal. McMahon, who received Player and Rookie of the Week honors this season, is amongst the conference leaders in wins.
Victoria Panicola looks to make impact in the playoffs and lead her team to the Skyline Final for the third consecutive year. The sophomore captain is 6-3 at no. 2 singles this year and is 9-1 in her last 10 singles matches.
Freshman Emily Portal has been SJC's key player at the sixth singles court, boasting an 8-2 record in singles competition this year and a 10-2 doubles record. On Sept. 28, Portal claimed the fifth point, to keep SJC in first place, over Yeshiva's Lindsay Frucher. The Patchogue, NY native dropped the first set 6-3, and came back to defeat Frucher 6-2, 6-3 to upset Yeshiva 5-4.
Freshman Nora Burnett has had a solid year for the Golden Eagles, compiling a 9-4 singles record in singles play. Burnett, a two-time Skyline Weekly Honor Roll recipient, has tallied an impressive 7-3 mark this season in doubles when partnered up with Erika Hesslbirg.
Senior captain Erika Hesselbirg, earned a 5-5 singles record playing in the 4th and 5th spot and owning a 3-2 record in conference.
Freshman Amanda Post will be at the number one singles court for the opening round of playoffs. Post has played in all 12 games for SJC and holds a 6-6 record at singles court with a 3-4 mark in conference.
SJC and Yeshiva met back on Sept. 28, with the Golden Eagles claiming the upper hand winning the match 5-4. Portal and McMahon accounted for SJC's three points in the win, with Portal claiming the fifth point to outlast the Maccabees 5-4.
The opening –round match between the Golden Eagles and Yeshiva will be played at Binghamton Racquet Club in Edgewater, NJ at on Friday, Oct. 27 at 10 AM. Full postgame recap will be available at here.
