Scranton, Pa. — Defending champions Marywood University will look to repeat as the Atlantic East Conference women's tennis playoffs begin on Wednesday afternoon. The third-seeded Pacers head to No. 2 Immaculata University 3:30 p.m.
PACERS LINEUP
Doubles: 1.
Allison Bashore/
Gabriella Nowak; 2.
Faith Kendricks/
McKenna Seavey; 3.
Cat English/
Meilei Cianfrocco
Singles: 1.
Gabriella Nowak; 2.
Allison Bashore; 3.
Faith Kendricks; 4.
McKenna Seavey; 5.
Gianna Snell; 6.
Gabby Nunez
MIGHTY MACS LINEUP
Doubles: 1. Annamarie Degnan/Pamela Kontaras; 2. Delaney Brown/Katie Gardner; 3. Jenna Muttik/Audrey Keen
Singles: 1. Annamarie Degnan; 2. Pamela Kontaras; 3. Delaney Brown; 4. Jenna Muttik; 5. Katie Gardner; 6. Sydney Mehaffey
SERIES HISTORY
Dating back to 2007-08, Marywood holds a 13-7 record over the Mighty Macs in both Colonial States Athletic Conference and Atlantic East Conference competition. The Pacers won eight consecutive over the Mighty Macs from 2007 to 2014. The Macs had a five-match streak that ended last season.
This is the third consecutive season the Pacers and Macs faced each other in the playoffs. Marywood defeated Immaculata 5-1 to win the Atlantic East championship last season. Immaculata swept the Pacers 5-0 in 2021.
The Pacers and Mighty Macs face off in Malvern for the second time in three days. Immaculata defeated the Pacers 6-3. Marywood earned a win from
Faith Kendricks and
McKenna Seavey in No. 2 doubles. Kendricks and
Gabby Nunez earned singles wins in both the third and sixth singles, respectively.
MATCH NOTES VS. IMMACULATA
Championship Rematch: Marywood and Immaculata competed against each other in the past two Atlantic East Championships. In 2021, the Mighty Macs soundly defeated the Pacers with only
Faith Kendricks and Annemarie Degnan the only current players in the starting lineup. In last season's 5-1 win over the Macs,
Allison Bashore was selected the Tournament MVP after defeating Degnan 7-5, 6-1 in the top singles flight. Kendricks had a win in second doubles.
Doubles Rematch: The doubles teams of Annamarie Degnan/Pamela Kontaras and Bashore/
Gabriella Nowak will face off for the second-consecutive postseason. Degnan/Kontaras earned the Macs' lone point in last year's final with an 8-2 win.
Scouting the Pacers: Three Pacers totaled undefeated records during singles play.
Faith Kendricks was 4-0 in the No. 3 singles spot against Atlantic East competition. Marywood did not lose a No. 6 singles match all conference season from
Gabby Nunez (3-0) and
Kayla Flyte (1-0).
Allison Bashore went 3-1 from the No. 2 singles slot, and
Gabriella Nowak and
Gianna Snell both finished 2-2 from the first and fifth singles.
During doubles play, Kendricks was also undefeated against AEC foes, teaming with Seavey for a 4-0 mark at the No. 2 position. Bashore/Nowak and
Cat English/
Meilei Cianfrocco were 2-2 from the first and third doubles positions, respectively.
Overall, Kenricks has the top individual record of the season, finishing 10-2 with one of her two losses coming from the No. 2 position. Nunez took the starting spot in the lineup to boast a 7-2 mark from the fifth and sixth slots. Nunez has won her past six singles matches. In doubles play, Kendricks and Seavey have won seven consecitive matches to notch an 8-1 mark on the season. Marywood's top doubles of Bashore/Nowak are 7-10.
Scouting the Macs: After beginning the season 1-7, Kontaras has won seven consecutive matches. She is the lone Mighty Mac with a plus-.500 mark on the season at 8-7. Immaculata's top singles flight of Degnan and Kontaras are also 8-7 on the season. The Macs' third doubles team of Audrey Keen and Jenna Mutnik have won four straight matches for a 4-2 record.
MVP and POTY:
Allison Bashore was last season's Player of the Year and Tournament MVP. She finished 9-7 last season from the top singles position.
Title Aspirations: Marywood has won 13 championships in three conference during its 48-year program history. The Pacers won the ESAC twice, PAC/CSAC 10 times, and the Atlantic East once. From 1995 to 2004, Marywood won eight of 10 conference championships.
