Binghamton, N.Y. - Junior Cat Crummey and senior Dexuan Yuan captured their singles matches, providing the winning points after the Knights captured the three doubles contests, leading Geneseo to a 5-0 win over New Paltz for the SUNYAC championship on Oct. 12. The victory gives the Knights their fourth consecutive conference title, and sixth in the last seven years. The win also caps an undefeated fall schedule, with Geneseo posting a 10-0 record.
"We respect and compliment New Paltz for playing so well today, as it meant we had to be at our best," said coach Jim Chen. "Our players knew what was at stake and raised their game to another level. It was a beautiful team victory."
The opening doubles matches were tightly contested. The duo of senior Marylen Santos/junior Mai Hashimoto ran off the last four games at number-one doubles to pull away from a slim 4-3 margin at mid-match. Number-two doubles was an 8-6 win for Crummey and senior Amanda Rosati that was close throughout, and the number-three match for sophomore Maggie Hale and senior Minxuan Yuan was the last to finish, as it featured long rallies and lasted over an hour.
The singles matches were also close. Of the four unfinished matches, New Paltz had captured the first set in three. Santos, at number-one singles, was up a set and tied in the second when the Crummey (number-two) and D. Yuan (number-four) results were posted. Crummey claimed singles and doubles points in each of the three tournament contests.
Seniors Rosati, M. Yuan and D. Yuan were all part of the consecutive championships. The Knights' four straight titles came in the team competition format, to which the tournament switched in 2011, and each has come against New Paltz. The two programs have combined to capture the last nine conference titles. This year's championship gives Geneseo eight SUNYAC titles, breaking a second place tie with Cortland and now trail only Binghamton (12) for the most in conference history.
"There are a lot of people who played key roles off the court that help in our success," said Chen. "Our athletic staff, such as the training and equipment departments, as well as other coaches, in particular Steve Minton and the men's basketball team, help us tremendously and we thank them."
With the victory comes an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in May 2015. It will be the Knights' fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament, and sixth overall.
Geneseo 5, New Paltz 0
Doubles:
1) Santos/Hashimoto (G) def. Schmidt/Tracy 8-3
2) Rosati/Crummey (G) def. Paikin/O'Brien 8-6
3) M. Yuan/Hale (G) def. Grandville/Tyson 8-4
Singles
1) Santos (G) vs. Ammirati 6-0, 4-4 (UF)
2) Crummey (G) def. Grandville 6-0, 6-2
3) Rosati (G) vs. Paikin 1-6, 6-1, 1-2 (UF)
4) D. Yuan (G) def. Schmidt 6-2, 6-2
5) Hashimoto (G) vs. Tyson 5-7, 0-2 (UF)
6) M. Yuan (G) vs. Tierney 4-6, 2-1 (UF)
