Gwynedd Takes CSAC Women's Tennis Title with 5-3 Win
Marywood earned their 8th runner-up finish after a tough 5-4 loss to GMU in the Championship

Gwynedd Takes CSAC Women's Tennis Title with 5-3 Win

Women's Tennis - 10/22/2016 9:05:00 PM

Match Results

Philadelphia - Gwynedd Mercy University rallied from a 2-1 deficit after doubles play to claim their fourth consecutive CSAC women's tennis title with a thrilling 5-4 win over #2 seed Marywood University Saturday evening at Legacy Racquet Club in Philadelphia. The Griffins (14-0) take the CSAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship tournament in the spring while Marywood concludes their fall season with a 13-4 mark and their eighth runner-up finish.

The title came down to a tight #5 singles match between Melanie Kobela and Robyn Belen.  In the regular season matchup, Kobela was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Nicole Picciolo.  But the Griffins changed things up with their lineup and Belen took the first set 6-1.  In the second set, Kobela trailed 5-1 before battling all the way back to tie it up at 5-5. 

Belen then took a 6-5 lead in the second set, then clinched the match with the deciding point, defeating Kobela 6-1, 7-5. 

Marywood and GMU have met for the last five trophies with the Pacers last winning in 2012.  Marywood now has eight runner-up finishes and 10 Championship titles overall. 

After the Griffins' #1 doubles duo of Katie Garthaus and Amanda Goff defeated Abygail Doud and Kristen Lambert 8-2, Marywood won two tight doubles matches at two and three, both by scores of 9-7, to take a lead into singles action. When the two teams met during the regular season (a 7-2 win for GMU), Marywood trailed 3-0 after doubles.  

In #2 doubles, Avery McCall and Danielle Ogonowski beat Natalie Danze and Kristen Kriebel while at #3 doubles Melanie Kobela and Nicole Sinclair also won 9-7 over Jenna Trythall and Picciolo.  

Marywood took a 3-1 lead on Sinclair's 6-0, 6-0 win over Amanda Gentry at #6 singles, and GMU made it 3-2 with a win from Garthaus (6-0, 6-1) over Doud at #1 singles.

GMU tied things up at 3-3 with a victory from Goff over McCall at #3 singles (6-3, 6-0). 

At two singles, Natalie Danze gave GMU their second lead of the match (4-3) with a 6-0, 6-1 win, but Marywood's Lambert quickly evened the match at 4-4 with a 6-3, 6-1 win at four singles.

Seniors Avery McCall and Melanie Kobela led Marywood to four straight CSAC runner-up finishes.
 

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