Jeffs Bow Out of NCAA Division III Tournament with 5-2 Quarterfinal Loss to Trinity

May 17, 2006

SANTA CRUZ, CA – The Amherst College women’s tennis team bowed out of the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 5-2 quarterfinal loss to Trinity University at the University of California at Santa Cruz on Wednesday evening. The Jeffs finish their season at 12-4 while Trinity advances to face defending national champion Emory University in tomorrow’s semifinals.

Trinity opened up the match by taking two of the three doubles tilts as Laura Steinmetz and Hayley Dittus edged Amherst senior tri-captain Kristen Raverta (W. Springfield, MA) and sophomore Alicia Menezes (Staten Island, NY) at No. 1, 9-8, and Alicia Hunt and Cayleigh Simpson bested Amherst sophomores Monica Snyder (Newton, MA) and Jennifer Murphy (Simsbury, CT) at No. 2. Amherst senior tri-captain Hadley Miller (N. Canton, OH) and sophomore Laura Stein (Rockport, ME) pulled the Jeffs back within one with an 8-2 win at No. 3 over Trinity’s Virginia Fraser and Leigh Pankonien.

Murphy pulled the Jeffs back even with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Simpson at No. 4 singles, but Snyder fell in straight sets to Dittus at No. 3 and Hunt and Fraser snatched three-set victories at No. 2 and 5, respectively, to seal the Trinity win.

Raverta and Menezes continue their postseason play on Saturday as Raverta is set to compete in the NCAA Singles Tournament, and the pair will team up in the NCAA Doubles Tournament.

Trinity (Tx.) 5 - Amherst 2
Singles
1. Laura Steinmetz (T) led Kristen Raverta (6-2, 6-7, 3-1)
2. Alicia Hunt (T) def. Alicia Menezes (3-6, 7-5, 6-2)
3. Hayley Dittus (T) def. Monica Snyder (6-3, 6-3)
4. Jennifer Murphy (A) def. Cayleigh Simpson (6-2, 6-2)
5. Virginia Fraser (T) def. Hadley Miller (6-4, 0-6, 6-3)
6. Katie Hudson (A) led Leigh Pankonien (5-7, 6-1, 3-2)

Doubles
1. Steinmetz/Dittus (T) def. Raverta/Menezes (9-8)
2. Hunt/Simpson (T) def. Snyder/Murphy (8-1)
3. Miller/Laura Stein (A) def. Fraser/Pankonien (8-2)