Box Score In one of the most competitive CUNYAC women's tennis championships to date, the women's tennis team secured the fifth and deciding match at third singles to earn their first championship in program history. With the score knotted at 4-4, freshman
Gabriela de Armas dropped the first set in a tie breaker but bounced back to even the score at one apiece. In the third and deciding set, the rookie came out on top 6-4 to win and give the Bloodhounds an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time.
"It is amazing to win a championship," exclaimed head coach
Juan Andrade. "Going into the tournament, we were trying to figure out how much work we would have to do once the draw got set up. Together, with the girls, we thought it was possible. We came in as a No. 4 seed, but there was a tie for second. It just meant that we had a couple more matches to win. The girls put in their work, and by the end of the season, they took it to another level against their competition."
John Jay took an early 1-0 lead as the tandem of de Armas and freshman
Gabrielle Schuck cruised to an 8-1 victory. The Bulldogs evened the score at one apiece after winning at three. Number one singles of senior Bernarda Reyes and junior Rageene Berry went back-and-forth but Brooklyn eventually took the match by a final score of 9-7. The Bloodhounds trailed 2-1 heading into singles play.
Brooklyn quickly increased their lead to 3-1 after taking sixth singles. Berry took care of business at number two, 6-1, 6-0 to cut the deficit to 3-2. Schuck evened the score at three all after winning in the fourth spot, 6-0, 6-1. After losing the second set, Lozano bounced back to take the deciding set, 6-1 but the Bulldogs quickly tied the score 4-4 after winning at the top spot.
de Armas fell behind 2-0 but rallied back with four straight games to go up by two. Brooklyn cut the lead down to 4-3 but de Armas responded to take her fifth game. Brooklyn won the next game to trail 5-4. With de Armas serving, the Bronx native cruised in the final game to lead the Bloodhounds to victory.
| Singles competition |
| 1. Kostenko, Ievgeniia (BKW) def. Bernarda Reyes (JOHNJAYW) 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-0 |
| 2. Rageene Berry (JOHNJAYW) def. Aksanov, Rosa (BKW) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 3. Gabriela de Armas (JOHNJAYW) def. Belrose, Georgeen (BKW) 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-4 |
| 4. Gabrielle Schuck (JOHNJAYW) def. Johnson, Shannel (BKW) 6-0, 6-1 |
| 5. Angelica Lozano (JOHNJAYW) def. Serageldin, Fatma (BKW) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 |
| 6. Mekler, Julia (BKW) def. Clara Aylin Wilhelm (JOHNJAYW) 6-1, 6-2 |
As a result of her victory, de Armas was named the CUNYAC Most Outstanding Player for the tournament.
Photo Credit: Denis Gostev
"It means everything to win a championship," de Armas said. "We have been working hard for this. It is a huge accomplishment and the credit goes to everyone."
The Bloodhounds will now await word on their seeding in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The championship will begin this spring and conclude on May 26 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, California.
