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View 2006-07 Season Highlights
Kristyna Dratch Hired to Head Women’s Tennis Program at Arcadia University
Glenside, PA: 6/19/08 - Arcadia University has hired Kristyna Dratch, of Huntington Valley, PA, as head coach of the women’s tennis program. Dratch most recently served as the assistant coach for the men’s and women’s program at Chestnut Hill College following a two year stint as the women’s assistant coach at Temple University.
While at Chestnut Hill and Temple, Dratch was responsible for the organization, program development and administration while helping her programs to a 46-39 overall record along the way. “Kristyna has both the competitive playing and coaching experience needed to instruct and develop our student-athletes into a more competitive program,” states Shirley Liddle, Director of Athletics. “Her student-athletes have shown signs of continued improvement from year to year, and I’m confident that her technical knowledge of the game will help bring our student-athletes to the next level, especially as we head into the Commonwealth Conference with top notch programs like Elizabethtown and Lebanon Valley,” adds Liddle.
Dratch sports a wealth of playing experience as a top-level intercollegiate player at Hampton University (VA) where she earned her undergraduate degree in Sport Management in 2005. While at Hampton, she took home Best Women’s Tennis Player in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) three years straight. Further, Dratch took home a championship title in 1998 at the Czech Republic Tennis Championships during a five year period where she represented professional tennis clubs in the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia.
A member of the Professional Tennis Registry, Dratch serves as a tennis professional and summer camp director at Fossler’s Cheltenham Tennis Center. She previously interned at the Black Women in Sport Foundation in Philadelphia, the Robbie Wagner Tournament Training Center in Glen Cove, New York and coached and managed professional players at the Korea International Tennis Academy in Pohang, South Korea.
Dratch earned her graduate degree in Sport and Recreation Administration from Temple University in 2007.
Paula Tabbed Knight of the Week
Women's Tennis sophomore Kristin Paula (Hopedale/Medway, MA) has been selected Knight of the Week for her performace at the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference Individual Tournament held this past weekend at the Hempstead Sports Complex in Landisville, PA.
Paula battled her way to the final four at #6 singles where she ran into Wilkes' Katie Buckley who pulled out the win in the second set 6-1, 7-5. Paula defeated Albright's Gaby Toda and Mahattanville's Julia Ramano.
In her sophomore campaign, Paula went 4-5 between #4 and #6 singles, with two wins coming against Freedom opponents Manhattanville and FDU. With two seasons of collegiate play under her belt, look for Paula as one of the Knight's top returners in 2008.
Paula Drops Heartbreaker to Wilkes' Buckley as Knights Conclude Season
Landisville, PA - 10/20/07: Kristin Paula put up a valiant effort in today's #6 singles matchup that if won, would have put her in the finals, but Katie Buckley of Wilkes held strong in the 6-1, 7-5 win.
While Paula dropped the first game 6-1, she put up her best effort in game two, coming back to tie it up at 5-5 before Buckley pulled out the next two points, sealing the 7-5 win and the match.
Paula
Paula's exit concludes the Knights season under first year head coach Melissa King. Arcadia's first season in the Freedom Conference was highlighted by a huge 5-4 win over FDU-Florham, the teams' sole conference win on the year. Other season highlights included a 7-2 win over Rosemont, a 6-3 win against former PAC rival Immaculata and a 9-0 blanking of Philadelphia Bible. The team played with tremendous heart all season and will sadly miss the leadership of seniors Brittany McCall, Amanda Sekerke and Jaclyn Zukowski next season.
Freedom Conference Individual Championships Day One Results
Landisville, PA - 10/20/07: [Bracket Results] Arcadia's Kristin Paula notched Arcadia's best performance on the day, winning both her quarter-final match and semi-final match to advance to sunday's final four matchup at #6 singles. Paula squeaked out her first set against Albright's Gaby Toda 7-6 before cruising to the 6-1 second set win for the straight set victory that moved her into the semifinals.
Upon defeating Mahattanville's Julia Romano, 6-0, 6-3, Paula moves on to face Katie Buckley of Wilkes in one semifinal match on Sunday.
Other strong performances from the Knights included Irina Samson, Danielle Klim, Cory Mazen, Sara Lapp and Brittany McCall. Although they did not advance to singles play on Sunday, they displayed toughness in not backing down against some tough Freedom and Commonwealth opponents.
Irina Samson put up a tough fight in the semi-finals of first singles against Lycoming's Rebecca Reynolds, going to the third set tie breaker, ending in Reynold's favor, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0. Danielle Klim dropped her quarter final match at first singles to Kristen Hunter of King's, keeping Hunter on her toes for both sets in the eventual 6-3, 6-4 loss. Cory Mazen, playing at #3 singles due to injury was defeated by Mahattanville's Ariane Lewis 6-3, 6-0 in her quarter-final match.
Four singles featured Sara Lapp matched against King's Amanda Marchina in the quarter-finals where Lapp went down in two, 6-2, 6-4. Five singles featured senior captain Brittany McCall paired against King's Lizzy Walpole in the quarter-finals with Walpole winning 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles action also provided some solid performances from the Knights as the pairing of Danielle Klim/Cory Mazen were finally sent away with a 8-4 loss against King's Amanda Marchica/Jillian Tallarico. At three singles Brittany McCall paried with Kristin Paula and nearly pulled out the win against Christy Rossowski and Maria Cometa from King's, eventually succumbing to the Monarchs in an 8-6 battle.
Klim Earns Knights Lone All Conference Selection
Glenside, PA - 10/17/07: [Full Release] Women's Tennis sophomore Danielle Klim (Elizabethtown Area/Elizabethtown, PA) has been recognized with Second Team Freedom All Conference honors for her performance througout the 2007 campaign. The full 2007 Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams were announced by the conference this morning and available at the Full Release link above.
Klim finished the Fall season 4-9 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Starting the year at #2 Singles where she was 3-5, Klim moved up to #1 singles as the season came to a close, finishing 1-2. She lost her only match at #3 singles.
Klim is a dual sport student-athlete at Arcadia where she also plays on the attack for the Lacrosse team.
Danielle Klim '10
Cedar Crest top Knights 8-1
Glenside, PA - 10/17/07: [Results] In their final home match of the 2007 campaign, the Knights of Arcadia gave it their all in a 8-1 loss to a tough Cedar Crest squad. While the lone win for Arcadia came complements of Cory Mazen at #4 singles, the Falcons were forced to work for their points with three matches going into tie-breakers.
The Falcons began the day with three win in Doubles action before taking 5 of 6 from singles play to improve to 12-3 overall while the Knights end the regular season 3-9 and 1-4 in Freedom play.
While Mazen topped Sarah Messner 6-0, 7-5(8-6) at #4 singles, junior Sarah Lapp played to a tie-breaker at #3, falling 6-1, 4-6(4-10) and senior captain Brittany McCall went the distance against her opponent at #5 singles, falling 3-6, 7-6, (8-6), (8-10).
Singles
1. Mallery, Maria (CCWT) def. Danielle Klim (ARCADIA) 6-3, 6-3
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2. Shively, Laura (CCWT) def. Irina Samson (ARCADIA) 6-2, 6-2
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3. Kuebler, Alexandra (CCWT) def. Sarah Lapp (ARCADIA) 1-6, 6-4, 10-4
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4. Cory Mazen (ARCADIA) def. Messner, Sara (CCWT) 6-0, 7-5, 8-6
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5. Schopf, Sarah (CCWT) def. Brittany McCall (ARCADIA) 6-3, 6-7, 10-8
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6. Ford, Colleen (CCWT) def. Kristin Paula (ARCADIA) 6-2, 6-3
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Doubles
1. Ford, Colleen/Shively, Laura (CCWT) def. Irina Samson/Sarah Lapp (ARCADIA) 8-2
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2. Mallery, Maria/Kuebler, Alexandra (CCWT) def. Danielle Klim/Cory Mazen (ARCADIA) 9-7
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3. Messner, Sara/Schopf, Sarah (CCWT) def. Brittany McCall/Kristin Paula (ARCADIA) 8-5
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Knights Blank Philadelphia Bible 9-0
Langhorne, PA - 10/09/07: [
Results] Arcadia Women's Tennis improved to 4-8 overall as the Knights blanked Philadelphia Biblical University 9-0 on Tuesday in non-conference play.
The Knights picked up three points to open doubles play and rolled through singles, not yeilding more than 3 points to PBU in any single match.
Danielle Klim/Irina Samson won at #1 Doubles, 8-4,
Sara Lapp/Corey Mazen at #2 Doubles, 8-1, and
Brittany McCall/Kristen Paula at #3 Doubles, 8-0.
Mazen did not yeild a point to her opponent at #4 Singles, winnig 6-0, 6-0 while Klim (#1), Samson (#2), Lapp (#3), McCall (#5) and Paula (#6) all won their respective singles matches.
Arcadia will play their final two home matches of the season with neighboring Chestnut Hill on 10/11 and Cedar Crest on 10/16 before the conference individual championships are held on 10/20 & 10/21 in Landisville, PA.
Defending Freedom Champions Too Much for Arcadia
Glenside, PA - 10/06/07: [
Results] Wilkes University extended their women’s tennis winning streak to nine straight matches with a 9-0 Freedom Conference win over Arcadia University on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Colonels, the defending conference champions, wrapped up a perfect conference slate by improving to 11-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference. Wilkes will be the number-one seed when the conference holds their team playoffs in the spring. Arcadia saw their records slip to 3-8 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
Arcadia's
Danielle Klim and
Irina Samson battled at first doubles losing 8-1 to Alison McDonald and Xiaoqiao Zhang. Kristin Wilt and Victoria Bybel followed with an 8-1 victory over AU's
Sarah Lapp and
Cory Mazen at the second spot. The third doubles tandem of Michelle Knight and Katie Buckley scored an 8-0 win over
Brittany McCall and
Jennifer Cardinale to give Wilkes a 3-0 lead heading into singles play.
McDonald was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Klim at the first singles position, and Zhang copped a win over Lapp, 6-1, 6-0, at number-two to give the Lady Colonels a 5-0 lead and secure the team victory.
Wilt notched a 6-1, 6-2 win over Samson at number-three and Bybel was a winner over Mazen, 6-1, 6-1 at the fourth spot to push the lead to 7-0. Knight topped McCall 6-2, 6-4 at fifth singles and Buckley scored a 6-0, 6-0 victory over
Kristin Paula at number-six to conclude the sweep.
The play of both Klim at number one singles and McCall at number five singles featured the strongest performances for Arcadia on the afternoon in front of the home crowd as the team concluded their first season of Freedom Conference play.
The Knights will play out their final non-conference schedule at Philadelphia Bible (10/9), home against Chestnut Hill (10/11) and at Cedar Crest (10/16).
Knights Drop to 1-3 in Freedom Play
Center Valley, PA - 10/02/07: [Results] Senior Amanda Serkerke' 8-2 win in exhibition play highlighted the Knights 9-0 Freedom Conference loss to DeSales University, Tuesday in Center Valley. With the loss, Arcadia drops to 3-7 on the year and 1-3 in the league.
Sekerke's match against Ingrid Hockenberg did not factor into the match score where the Bulldogs dominated the afternoon, yeilding only 8 points to the Knights over the course of doubles and singles play.
Arcadia hopes to rebound with a conference win this weekend when they host Wilkes University at 1 PM.
Cabrini blanks Knights in Non-Conference Match
Radnor, PA -9/29/07: [Results] Arcadia Women's Tennis succumbed a 9-0 loss to Cabrini College in non-conference action Saturday in Radnor. The loss pins the Knights at 3-6 overall on the season.
Arcadia returns to Freedom Conference play with an away match at DeSales University on Oct. 2 and a home match against Wilkes University on Saturday at 1 PM. The Knights are currently tied for 4th in the Freedom league with King's, both with 1-2 records. DeSales is tied for 2nd place (2-1) and undefeated Wilkes (3-0) resides in the top slot.
Knights Fight Hard for Conference Win Against FDU-Florham
Glenside, PA - 9/26/07: [Results] Arcadia University battled to a fourth place tie in the Freedom Conference standings with today's 5-4 winning effort over FDU-Florham. With the win, the Knights improve to 3-5 overall and travel to Cabrini (9/29) before back to back Freedom matches at DeSales (10/2) and at home against Wilkes (10/6).
Helping the Knights in today's victory were #2 doubles partners sophomores Cory Mazen and Danielle Klim (8-1) and senior Brittany McCall and sophomore Jennifer Cardinale in the #3 slot (8-3) to give the Knights the early 2-1 advantage heading into singles play.
The two teams spilt even and odd singles match-ups. At #1 FDU's Leslee Johnson defeating Cory Mazen 3-6, 0-6. Meg Koenig needed three sets to earn the point at #2 as the Knight's Irina Samson took game one 6-4 before Koenig won 6-2 and 5-10 in the tie breaker. FDU escaped with their final point at #5 singles with McCall winning set one 6-3, losing set two, 3-6, and dropping the tie breaker, 2-10, to FDU's Katrina Musto.
Klim notched a win at #2 sinlges 6-2, 6-3 over Robin Harseshimen, junior Sara Lapp at #4 sinlges over FDU's Corrine Schartz and sophomore Kristen Paula fighting for the 6-4, 6-4 win at #6.
Philadelphia University Defeats Arcadia 9-0
Philadelphia, PA - 9/25/07: [Results] Arcadia University dropped to 2-5 on the year following last nights 9-0 loss at non-conference Philadelphia University.
The Knights managed just 15 points to Philadelphia's 96 as the home team took every match in doubles and singles play.
Arcadia returns to Freedom Conference play tomorrow when they host FDU-Florham at 4 PM.
Knights Follow Up 9-0 Loss at King's with 6-3 Win at Immaculata
Glenside, PA - 9/24/07 [King's] [Immaculata] Arcadia University Women's Tennis used a 9-0 loss at Freedom Conference opponent King's College on Thursday to fuel a 6-3 win at former PAC rival Immaculata on Saturday.
King's held the Knights to no points on Thursday as Arcadia dropped to 0-2 in conference play.
On Saturday, Arcadia took 2 of 3 from doubles and won #3 through #6 singles en-route to a 6-3 non-conference victory over Immaculata University. Irina Samson and Sarah Lapp won at #2 Doubles, 8-2, while the pairing of Brittany McCall with Jennifer Cardinale cruised to the 8-1 #3 Doubles win.
Corey Mazen dropped a tight #1 singles match, 6-7(4-7), 5-7 and Danielle Klim fell at #2 singles, 4-6, 0-6 but the Knights earned wins at #3 singles (Samson) 6-0, 6-2, #4 singles (Lapp) 6-0, 6-1, #5 singles (McCall) 6-3, 6-4, and at #6 sinlges (Kristen Paula) 6-2, 6-3.
The 2-4 Knights host Freedom Conference opponent FDU-Florham this Wednesday at 4 PM.
Arcadia Picks Up First Win of the Season
Glenside, PA - 9/17/07: [Results] Arcadia University earned their first team win of the season handily defeating the Ramblers of Rosemont College 7-2 in non-conference play.
The battle of the afternoon occurred when Rosemont's #1 Priyanka Reddy, the 206 PAC Rookie of the Year, stunned Arcadia's #1 Cory Mazen 1-6, 0-6 in singles play after Reddy teamed with Kristi Bannon at #1 doubles defeating Arcadia's Irina Smason and Sarah Lapp 4-8.
Aside from the points at those two matches, Arcadia rolled through each set, with the help of two Rosemont defaults to win 7-2. Mazen and Danielle Klim dominated at #2 doubles to win 8-0 while Samson, Lapp and Britanny McCall warned singles points in the victory.
The Knights travel up the turnpike Thursday for a Freedom Conference match at King's College at 3:30 PM in Kriby Park, Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Knights Drop 6-3 Match to Manhattanville
Purchase, NY: 9/15/07 [Results] – Arcadia Women's Tennis dropped their first Freedom Conference match to the Valiant's of Manhattanville College Saturday afternoon. In Saturday’s match, the Valiants won five of six singles points to rebound from a shaky start in doubles play, where the Knights took two of three.
Manhattanville led all three doubles matches at one point, but only Blake Leeser (Irvington, N.Y.) and Paisley Coats (Greenwich, Conn.) at the top spot were able to hang on for the win, dropping Arcadia's Irina Samson (Western Wayne/Waymart, PA) and Sarah Lapp (Nassau Community College/Southside High School/Rockville Centre, NY), 8-3.
The Valiants lost at second and third doubles by identical 8-6 scores. Corey Mazen (Mendham, NJ/West Morris Mendham HS) paired with Danielle Klim (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown Area) at #2 and Jennifer Cardinale (Stephen F. Austin/Austin, TX) pairing with Brittany McCall (Sterling High School/Somerdale, NJ) at #3 both winning by identical 8-6 scores.
Cardinale won Arcadia's sole singles match, defeating Julia Romano 6-4, 6-2.
The Knights host former PAC rival Rosemont College Monday at 4 PM.
Knights Drop 7-2 Match to The University of the Sciences
Glenside, PA - 9/6/07: [Results] Danielle Klim's (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown Area) third set tie-breaker victory at #2 doubles highlighted Arcadia's 7-2 non-conference loss to the University of the Sciences Thursday afternoon, as the Knights drop to 0-2 on the year. The Sciences got off to a good start by sweeping doubles play before taking 4 of 6 during singles play.
Klim dropped the first set to the Sciences' Sarah Leonard in a 5-7 tiebreaker before she found her game in set two, winning 6-4. The third set went down to the wire with Klim winning 11-9, picking up her first singles victory of the year. Sarah Lapp (Nassau Community College/Southside High School/Rockville Centre, NY) also found the win column for her singles victory as a Knight, taking her opponent, Quyen Vo, in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
The Knights are off until next week when they travel to nearby Philadelphia University.
Knights Unable to Solve Gwynedd-Mercy
Glenside, PA - 8/31/07: [Results] In their first match of the 2007 season, Arcadia Women's Tennis dropped a tough match to Gwynedd-Mercy College,9-0. While the Knights were unable to win a point on the day, the lineup featured a mix of returnees and first year players who experienced their first competition as team this season.
Play opened with Arcadia sophomores Corey Mazen (Mendham, NJ/West Morris Mendham HS) and Danielle Klim (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown Area) teaming up at #1 Doubles, Irina Samson (Western Wayne High School/Waymart, PA) and Brittany McCall (Sterling High School/Somerdale, NJ) at #2 and Sarah Lapp (Nassau Community College/Southside High School/Rockville Centre, NY) with Jennifer Cardinale (Stephen F. Austin/Austin, TX) at #3. While neither matchup yeilded a point, the pairing of Lapp/Cardinale battled with the Griffins #3 pairing where they settled for the 10-8 loss.
With momentum on their side, Gwynedd-Mercy (1-1 overall) rolled through singles play and went onto the sweep for their first win of the year.
The Knights (0-1 overall) will look to pull even Thursday, Sept. 6 when they host the University of the Sciences at 4 PM at the Weiss Tennis Courts in Glenside.
Arcadia University Women's Tennis 2007 Season Preview
Glenside, PA - 8/28/07: With two new faces guiding the team in 2007, head coach Melissa King and assistant coach Bill Heiser, the Knights will look to a unique top four singles lineup to challenge the best of the Freedom conference with a mix of players returning to hold down the bottom three positions.
"I am excited that 2 new players broke into the top 6 singles rankings. Since Arcadia is new to the MAC, I feel this team will give the top ranked MAC teams stiff competition this year," states King. "We are looking forward to playing in this new conference. The top returners have worked on their tennis game on the off-season and have vastly improved since last year, raising their games to the next level. Arcadia is ready to play hard and hopefully win a few surprise team and individual matches in the new conference."
Sophomores Cory Mazen (Mendham, NJ/West Morris Mendham HS) and Danielle Klim (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown Area) will provide the one-two punch at the top of the singles lineup while newcomer Irina Samson (Western Wayne High School/Waymart, PA) will play #3 singles. King goes on, "Mazen is an extremely quick, hard hitting player who can put away an opponent in minutes. Klim is a consistant player, who doesn't give up any points and she makes her opponent work very hard on tough points while Samson is a new player and a wonderful surprise, and she is also a consistant player, a human wall." Senior Brittany McCall (Sterling High School/Somerdale, NJ) will provide solidity at #4 singles, where she will look to have her best season on the courts. "As captain, she is the text book player with a strong forehand. She also doesn't give up points easily."
Four returning players represented the team in the 2006 PAC playoffs, where sophomore Kristen Paula (Medway, MA/Hopedale HS) advanced to the semifinals at #6 singles before falling to the eventual #6 singles champion. Look for Paula to move up to the #5 slot where she hopes to build on an impressive 10-8 overall and 5-1 conference record in her first year. "Kristen Paula is a stong player who just won't give up, she stretches her opponents to 3 sets if necessary and wins." Mazen (6-10 overall / 4-4 PAC in ‘06), Klim (13-4 / 6-2 PAC in ’06) and senior Jaclyn Zukowski (Ridley, PA/Cardinal O’Hara) also participated in post season play last Fall. Sophomore Jennifer Cardinale (Stephen F. Austin/Austin, TX) rounds out the singles lineup at #6.
Junior transfer Sara Lapp (Nassau Community College/Southside High School/Rockville Centre, NY) will make an immediate impact in the lineup drawing from her collegiate playing experience at Nassau Community College. "Sarah Lapp is another wonderful new surprise player to the team. She is an extremely hard hitting player, ready to take on new opponents in the MAC conference."
QUICK FACTS
2006 Overall Record:7-9
2006 PAC Record: 5-6
2007 Freedom Conference Preseason Poll Rank: 6th out of 6 teams
2006 Freedom Conference Champion: Wilkes University
Head Coach: Melissa King
Assistant Coach: Bill Heiser
Home Matches: Weiss Tennis Courts
Affiliations: MASCAC- Freedom, NCAA Division III
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Other go-to options for the Knights this season include sophomore Julie Leva (North Penn High School/Lansdale, PA), and senior Amanda Sekerke (Haddon Heights/Barrington, NJ).
Look for Mazen and Klim to pair up to lead #1 doubles, Samson and McCall at #2 doubles and the pairing of Lapp/Cardinale at #3 doubles.
"Since we are new to the Freedom Conference, will will take one match at a time, analyze and prepare for each match on a team and individual basis. I feel this team is strong and can make it to the conference tournament."
While the Knights ended the 2006 regular season with a disappointing 5 game winless streak, the stealthy lineup in 2007 should surprise the Freedom Conference coaches who selected the Knights to finish last in the conference behind Wilkes, FDU-Florham, DeSales, Manhattanville and King’s. The preseason has provided the team some considerable competition among each other and the Knights are set to begin their regular season this Friday at home on the Weiss Courts against familiar powerhouse rival Gwynedd-Mercy College at 4 PM. Freedom Conference play will commence on September 15th when the team hopes to pick up an early conference win on the road at Manhattanville.
Knights Selected Sixth in Freedom Conference Preseason Poll
Annville, PA – Courtesy of the MASCAC 8/27/07: In a pre-season poll of conference coaches, the Wilkes University Colonels have been voted the favorite to win the Freedom Conference championship. Wilkes received four first place votes and a total of 30 points. Confernece newcomer Arcadia University was tabbed in the 6th slot.
18-2 (6-0) in 2006, Wilkes finished first in the regular season, and went on to defeat Drew and DeSales in the playoffs to win the Freedom Conference championship. The Lady Colonels advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Hunter in the first round. Returning three All Conference players from last year’s squad, Coach of the Year Chris Leicht and the team looks to 2006 Freedom Conference Player and of the Year, First Team All Conference selection and #1 Singles champion Xiaoqiao Zhang to set the pace of their championship defense. First Team selection Alison McDonald (junior, 17-3) and Second Team junior Kristin Wilt are also major components in the success of the Lady Colonels race to the title.
FDU-Florham tied for second in the poll with one first place vote and 25 total points.
Finishing tied for fourth last year at 5-8 (2-4), the Devils team missed the playoffs but gained immeasurable experience. This season they look to mesh young, talented players with experienced ones and run to the tournament once again led by Second Team All Conference selections Amanda Granville (sophomore) and Jill Horn (sophomore).
DeSales also tied for second in the poll with 25 total points. Finishing the regular season in second place (13-4, 5-1), the Bulldogs fell to Wilkes in the conference finals. First Team All Conference players Courtney McClurkin (senior) and Liz Guidon (senior) will head the Bulldogs’ line-up.
Manhattanville received 23 points in the poll placing them fourth. Entering their first year competing in the Freedom Conference, the Valiants are coming off of three straight Skyline Conference championships. Skyline Coach of the Year Amy Wachenhein and Rookie of the Year Paisley Coats hope to extend their success into 2007. First Team selections Blake Lesser (senior) and Scarlette Rodriguez (sophomore) add to this talented squad.
King’s was selected fifth with 15 total points. After last year’s seventh place finish, at 5-10 (0-6) the Lady Monarchs are optimistic about the 2007 campaign and look to senior Kristin Hunter, a Second Team selection, to lead the charge.
Arcadia (7-9, 5-6) received 12 points for sixth place. The Knights are coming into their first season as a member of the Freedom Conference after finishing seventh in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference in 2006. Sophmores Cory Mazen and Danielle Klim have one year of collegiate playing experience under their belt and should prove to be a solid force along side seniors Brittany McCall and Jaclyn Zukowski and junior Kristin Paula. New head coach Melissa King hopes to lead her team into contention for a postseason berth.
Freedom Conference Pre-season Women’s Tennis Poll
1. Wilkes 30 pts. (4)
2t. FDU-Florham 25 pts. (1)
2t. DeSales 25 pts.
4. Manhattanville 23 pts.
5. King’s 15 pts.
6. Arcadia 12 pts.
Arcadia Tabs Melissa King as Head Coach for Women’s Tennis
Glenside, PA: Arcadia University Director of Athletics & Recreation, Shirley Liddle, has announced the appointment of Melissa King as Head Coach for Women’s Tennis. King takes over the reigns of Arcadia’s Women’s Tennis program after head coach Lax Sphabmixay stepped down to concentrate on the men’s program.
“Melissa has an extensive tennis background as a player and is very knowledgeable with trends in the sport of women’s tennis,” states Liddle. “She is going to be a fine addition to our staff and I know the student-athletes are looking forward to beginning the 2007 Fall season with her at the helm.”
King has been employed as an Information Security Analyst for GMAC Residential in Horsham since 2000 and also serves as a project manager consultant for Intelligent Security & Stenstrom Scientific in Camden, NJ.
The Danville, Virginia native began her tennis career at the age of ten and worked her way up to earn the #1 singles position at George Washington High School and went onto to play for Averett University, Danville, VA as a #1 player. King was chosen to serve as Assistant Head Coach at Averett but was obligated to enter the United States Navy for four active years of duty.
During that time, King traveled to Florida, California, Australia, New Zealand and Virginia as a Radioman Information Technology 3rd Class. While serving in Australia, King was one of seven women worldwide chosen to try out for the All Navy Women’s Tennis Team in Florida where she gained experience playing against top women players in the United States.
King received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1998 from St. Joseph’s University and graduated from Arcadia University in 2004 with a M.A. English degree.
She has been a member of the Alumni Board of Directors at Arcadia since 2006 and recently selected to chair the Alumni Project Committee, April 2007. She is an active member of the United States Tennis Association and participates in numerous local tournaments.
