AMHERST, MA - SUNY Geneseo junior Cat Crummey surpassed the program record for singles wins and total wins in a season, with victories at number-two doubles and number-two singles, helping the Knights defeat Elizabethtown (Pa.) 5-0 Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tennis Championship. Geneseo (15-3) ranked 15th in the ITA Northeast Region, swept the opening doubles matches and clinched the match with singles victories by Crummey and junior Marylen Santos at number-one singles.
Elizabethtown (16-4) came into the contest ranked 17th in the Atlantic South Region. The two teams were also matched in the first round last year, with Geneseo taking a 5-1 win. In NCAA Tournament play, matches are played to a decision, ending when one team reached five points.
Geneseo swept the doubles portion of the competition, providing a 3-0 margin going into the singles. Santos and senior Minxuan Yuan had a 8-0 win at number-one doubles, number-two Crummey/senior Amanda Rosati won 8-4 and the number-three pairing of first-year Anika Pornpitaksuk and junior Mai Hashimoto captured their match 8-4. In the singles, Santos was the first player to finish, winning 6-0, 6-0, and Crummey's subsequent 6-0, 6-4 victory clinched the team win.
Crummey's two wins give her 43 total on the year, moving ahead of Sarah Shields '13, who had 41 in 2009-10. Crummey also passed Shields for singles wins in a season with her 22nd win and her doubles victory was her 21st, tying her with Lauren Johnson '12 for most doubles wins in a season. Crummey's partner Rosati now has 51 career doubles victories, one short of the Geneseo career mark set by Melissa Baker '11.
The Knights improved their NCAA record to 4-5 overall, with the win the fourth time in six NCAA appearances that Geneseo has captured its first-round match. They are 0-3 in second-round matches. They move on to face host Amherst (13-4), currently ranked No. 3 in the Northeast Region and No. 7 nationally. The Lord Jeffs, who received a first-round bye, have been ranked as high as No. 3 nationally this season. In 2012, the only matchup between the two programs, Amherst defeated Geneseo 5-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Geneseo 5, Elizabethtown 0
#1 Doubles:
Marylen Santos/Minxuan Yuan (G) def. Christine Evangelista/Kaitlyn Pellegrino 8-0
#2 Doubles:
Amanda Rosati/Cat Crummey (G) def. Lauren Berry/Taylor Heisel 8-4
#3 Doubles:
Mai Hashimoto/Anika Pornpitaksuk (G) def. Madison McCall/Sam Procak 8-4
#1 Singles:
Santos (G) def. Evangelista 6-0, 6-0
#2 Singles:
Cat Crummey (G) def. Pellegrino 6-4, 6-0
#3 Singles:
Amanda Rosati (G) vs. Berry DNF 3-6, 3-3
#4 Singles
Dexuan Yuan (G) vs. McCall DNF 6-1, 3-2
#5 Singles
Mai Hashimoto (G) vs. Sarah Calabro DNF 5-5
#6 Singles
Minxuan Yuan (G) vs. Taylor Heisel DNF 6-7
