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Cayce, S.C. – The No. 6 seeded Seton Hall women's tennis team took No. 3 seed Georgetown by storm Friday afternoon, and earned a decisive 4-1 BIG EAST Championship Quarterfinal victory on a hot afternoon at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center.
The Pirates (8-9) set the tone out of the gates when freshmen Michal Matson (St. Albans, New Zealand) and Melody Taal (Ede, Netherlands) paired for a 6-2 victory at the No. 3 doubles position. Following suit, sophomore Thandy Kangwa (Fort Myers, Fla.) and junior Katie Kim (Honolulu, Hawaii) chalked up a 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot to clinch the point.
"Heading into doubles, we knew we needed to play like the way we've been training, and the way we are capable of," said head coach Riza Zalameda. "We played extremely confident and kept our foot on the gas to take a very important lead heading into singles play."
Matson continued her impressive rookie campaign with a dominating 6-1, 6-0 performance at the No. 4 spot to give the Pirates a spirited 2-0 lead.
Georgetown (12-6) got on the board with a hard-fought matchup at the No. 3 spot to cut the lead to 2-1. Next, sophomore Anicka Fajnorova (Bratislava, Slovakia) responded after a setback in the second frame to pick up a critical 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot to push the lead to 3-1.
The Hall was leading or tied in the final three singles matches remaining, and sophomore Thandy Kangwa (Fort Myers, Fla.) ultimately clinched the historical victory for the program with a disciplined 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 triumph over Sydney Goodson at the No. 5 spot.
"Today's victory was an inspiring display of courage and grit," said Zalameda. "The conditions were daunting today and our team was able to power through. The leadership of this group comes from each individual owning her role, and we're just having fun playing for each other."
Up next, the Pirates take on No. 2 seed DePaul at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinal at Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center. Stay tuned to SHUpirates.com, @SHU_Tennis on Twitter, and BIG EAST Championship Central for the latest news and updates on the tournament.
Doubles
1. Risa Nakagawa/Sydney Goodson (GUW) vs. Luize Strike/Anicka Fajnorova (SHU) unfinished
2. Thandy Kangwa/Katie Kim (SHU) def. Victoire Saperstein/Casey Marx (GUW) 6-2
3. Michal Matson/Melody Taal (SHU) def. Drew Spinosa/Cecilia Lynham (GUW) 6-2
Singles
1. Victoire Saperstein (GUW) vs. Luize Strike (SHU) 6-7, unfinished
2. Anicka Fajnorova (SHU) def. Sara Swift (GUW) 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
3. Risa Nakagawa (GUW) def. Melody Taal (SHU) 6-1, 7-5
4. Michal Matson (SHU) def. Cecilia Lynham (GUW) 6-1, 6-0
5. Thandy Kangwa (SHU) def. Sydney Goodson (GUW) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
6. Drew Spinosa (GUW) vs. Katie Kim (SHU) 5-7, 6-3, unfinished
http://www.shupirates.com/news/2017...past-georgetown-in-big-east-quarterfinal.aspx
