FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Bryant University women's tennis team wrapped up its final fall tournament at the New England Championships over the weekend, and saw strong showings all across the board over the two-day tournament.
Leading the team was freshman Devlin-Ann Ammendola (Massapequa, N.Y.), who went 3-0 en route to winning the No. 4 Singles Flight, while also teaming up with sophomore May Vickers (Montrose, Colo.) to win the No. 3 Doubles Flight, highlighting a solid weekend of play for the Bulldogs.
Ammendola never dropped more than three games in a single set during her trek to her first singles title of her collegiate career, opening the weekend with a 6-1; 6-0 victory over Merrimack College's Kylie Waddington. Following another 6-1; 6-0 win in the semifinals, Ammendola came into the finals matched against the University of Connecticut's Marie Gargiulo. The freshman closed out the flight with a 6-3; 6-2 romping, sealing the singles title.
Moving to doubles play, Ammendola and Vickers cruised to an 8-1 opening-round win before battling host Fairfield's Victoria Pirrello and Emma Samson in the semifinals. The two Bulldogs proved too much for the Fairfield pair, moving on to the finals with an 8-4 win and setting up a showdown with UConn's Lucy Nutting and Lauren Wilmarth. But it was the Bulldogs emerging victorious again, as Ammendola and Vickers rounded out the No. 3 Doubles Flight with a convincing 8-3 victory.
The Black and Gold saw other strong finishes across the board, as sophomore Stephanie Smyers (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished in third place in the No. 5 Singles Flight. The Pittsburgh native fought to an 8-4 win in the consolation match after opening the bracket with a 6-1; 6-2 victory over Sacred Heart's Kristin Legenza. Smyers also finished in third place in the No. 2 Doubles Flight, pairing with classmate Marcela Brandao (Santo Andre, Brazil) to down Sacred Heart pair Delaney Downing and Gabi Kaldan in a thrilling 9-8 (3) victory.
In the No. 1 Doubles Flight, juniors Lucy Bird (Hamilton, New Zealand) and Claudia Hidalgo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) battled all the way to the flight's championship round, where they were involved in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament. The pair eventually fell, 9-8 (6), to Connecticut pair Jennifer Learmonth and Maxene Weinberg, earning the Bulldogs a second-place finish in the top doubles flight in the tournament.
Bryant will see action just once more before the spring, concluding the fall season next Saturday at the Ludlow Tennis Club (Ludlow, Mass.) for a neutral-site battle against Siena College on Oct. 22.
RESULTS
No. 1 Singles
Hidalgo (BRY) def. Radde (Fairfield)
Liu (BRY) def. Hidalgo (BRY)
Learmonth (UConn) def. Hidalgo (BRY)
No. 2 Singles
Weinberg (UConn) def. Bird (BRY)
Brandao (BRY) def. Kaldan (SHU)
Bernardez (PC) def. Brandao (BRY)
Brandao (BRY) def. Bird (BRY)
No. 3 Singles
Rydzewski (SHU) def. Vickers (BRY)
Vickers (BRY) def. Cruz (Fairfield)
Vickers (BRY) def. Chad (SHU)
No. 4 Singles
Ammendola (BRY) def. Waddington (MC)
Ammendola (BRY) def. Corder (PC)
Ammednola (BRY) def. Gargiulo (UConn)
No. 5 Singles
Smyers (BRY) def. Legenza (SHU)
Wilmarth (UConn) def. Smyers (BRY)
Smyers (BRY) def. Pirrello (Fairfield)
No. 6 Singles
Samson (Fairfield) def. McCabe (BRY)
McCabe (BRY) def. Dubits (SHU)
McCabe (BRY) def. Veasey (MC)
No. 1 Doubles
Bird/Hidalgo (BRY) def. Hole/Messina (MC)
Bird/Hidalgo (BRY) def. Emhardt/Radde (Fairfield)
Learmonth/Weinberg (UConn) def. Bird/Hidalgo (BRY)
No. 2 Doubles
Brandao/Smyers (BRY) def. Willhoft/Gileau (Hart)
Gregory/Gsrgiulio (UConn) def. Brandao/Smyers (BRY)
Brandao/Smyers (BRY) def. Downing/Daldan (SHU)
No. 3 Doubles
Ammendola/Vickers (BRY) def. Greenberg (H)/Dubits (S)
Ammendola/Vickers (BRY) def. Pirrello/Samson (Fairfield)
Ammendola/Vickers (BRY) def. Nuting/Wilmarth (UConn)
For continuing coverage of Bryant University women's tennis check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.
