HCAC Women’s Tennis Tournament Invades Indianapolis
Tournament Program (click here)
GREENWOOD, IN – The 2011 women’s tennis season will come to a close this weekend, as the HCAC Tennis Championships will be held this Saturday and Sunday in Indianapolis. This year’s tournament will be hosted by Manchester College and held at the West Indy Racquet Club in Indianapolis.
Rose-Hulman claimed a share of the school’s second HCAC women’s tennis championship and will look to earn the conference’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament this coming spring by taking the tournament title for the second straight year. The Engineers shared the league title with Transylvania.
RHIT (8-1 HCAC) has been led by Marie Stettler (Edgerton, Wis.) at the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles position this fall, posting an 13-4 overall conference record. Teaming up with Stettler at the No. 1 doubles position has been sophomore Paige Cook (Terre Haute, Ind.). Cook is the only player in the conference not to lose a league match all year, holding a 9-0 mark at No. 5 singles and an 8-0 record in doubles.
Transylvania shared the 2011 HCAC title with Rose-Hulman with an 8-1 record. The Pioneers dropped a 5-4 decision to the Engineers during the regular season, giving the top seed to RHIT. TU’s Kelsey Fulkerson (Lexington, Ky.) has been the anchor for the Pioneers lineup this fall. The senior is 7-0 at No. 1 singles and holds a 6-1 mark at the No. 1 doubles position. Senior Stephanie Townsend (Goshen, Ky.) teamed with Fulkerson in doubles and has notched a 5-2 record in singles action.
As the top two seeds, Rose and Transy avoid an opening round contest and will play in the conference semifinals at 2:00 PM Saturday.
Hanover College will have the No. 3 seed this weekend and face rival Franklin College in an opening round match at 9:00 AM Saturday. The Panthers (7-2 HCAC) defeated the Grizzlies (4-5 HCAC) 8-1 back on October 5. The winner of the match Saturday advances to face No. 2 seed Transylvania.
Manchester College and Anderson University will battle in the No. 4/5 seed contest Saturday morning. The Spartans and Ravens each posted a 6-3 mark in league play, with the black and gold holding the tiebreaker with a 5-4 win at Anderson in early October. Rose-Hulman awaits the victor at 2:00 PM Saturday.
Action will get underway Saturday morning with opening round play at 9:00 AM. The HCAC semifinals will be held approximately 2:00 PM Saturday with the championship match taking place at 10:00 AM Sunday morning.
