FLUSHING, N.Y. – Hosting the ITA East Regional Tournament Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center, the Queens College women's tennis team put up impressive individuals performances as several Knights advanced to the semi-final phase of both the singles and doubles bracket.
But it would be heartbreak come day 4 for the Knights as junior
Caroline Hany-Fawzy (Alexandria, Egypt) fell in the singles semi-final match. While the doubles, the double duo of seniors
Maja Makal (Bialystok, Poland) and
Gabriela Sciarrotta (Woodmere, N.Y.) fell in the semi-final to see their tournament run come to an end.
Singles Tournament
In the Round of 128, junior
Ana Tarbujaru (Valcea, Romania) fell to Adelphi Amanda Franstedt to the score 8-3. While senior
Chloe Certain (Obernai, France) advanced to next round with a 8-6 victory over Southern New Hampshire University Verena Weindl.
Sophomore
Rea Hagishima (Tokyo, Japan) fell to SNHU Alina Kupfer 8-5, while Senior
Lilly Schmidt (Montabaur, Germany) advanced with an impressive 8-1 victory Wilmington University Alva Norberg.
In the Round of 32, Certain would see her singles tournament run come to an end with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat to #4 Franklin Pierce Maria Aguilo.
While #25 Sciarrotta defeated Le Moyne Stella Simeonova to the score of 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 to advance to the next round.
Fawzy seeded #15 started her impressive run in the tournament with a quick 6-0, 6-3 victory over Daemen University Carly Armitage. Schmidt picked up her second victory of the tournament with a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-6 win over Chestnut Hill College Carlota Garcia.
The 2019 champion and seeded #6 Makal started her run as she made quick work of Le Moyne Brooke Tutor with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Junior
Mariana Ling (Orlando, Florida) fell to Post University Annunciata De-Souza in a two-set heartbreaker as Ling fell to the score of 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
While freshman
Apolline Lamy (Toulouse, France) seeded #17 advanced to the next round with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Dominican University Nora Frederick.
In the Round of 32, Sciarrotta would see her singles run come to an end as SNHU #10 Magdalena Hubickova defeated the Knight to the score of 6-4, 6-3.
While Lamy saw her run ended by Franklin Pierce Aynara Ferraz as the rookie fell 6-1, 6-2.
While Fawzy continued her run to the next round with a three-set victory over CHC Alison Isaac. The junior dropped the first set 6-2 before bouncing back with a 6-3, 10-8 victory.
It was Knight vs. Knight in the Round of 32 as Makal matched up against Schmidt. Makal would pick up the 6-0, 6-1 victory over her teammate to advance to the Round of 16.
With only two Knights left in the singles tournament, both Fawzy and Makal would emerge victorious in their draw. Makal defeated #11 Adelphi Barbara Quagliardi in straight sets with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.
While Fawzy defeated SNHU Alina Kupfer in a three-set match. The junior won the first set with a 6-2 victory before dropping the second set to the score of 6-4. But It would be the junior from Queens who advanced to the Quarterfinals with a 10-7 victory.
Back in the QF since winning it all in 2019, it would be a heartbreaker for Makal as she matched up against #29 St. Thomas Aquinas College Amaia Balaguer Brau. The Poland native dropped the first set to the score of 6-2 before Makal bounced back as she shutout her East Coast Conference foe with a 6-0 victory to force the third set tiebreaker.
Both would exchange points but Makal would drop her match in a closely-contested third set loss to the score of 11-9.
While Fawzy advanced to the QF for the second straight year, but last season the junior would fall in the QF round. Looking to keep her impressive run going, Fawzy created an upset over #10 Hubickova as the Egyptian native defeated her opponent in straight sets to the score of 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the semi-final round.
Looking to become the second Knight to advance to the championship match since Makal won it all in 2019, Fawzy matched up against Adelphi #14 Sanne Selmer Gilje. But it would be another heartbreaker as Fawzy fell in straight sets to Gilje to the score of 6-1, 6-2 to see her tournament come to an end.
Doubles Tournament
Unseeded in the tournament, the duo of Certain/Hagishima started their impressive run with a 8-0 shutout victory over Assumption University Aimee Figgins/Isabelle Edwards in the Round of 64.
While the duo of Ling/Schmidt fell in the first round to Chestnut Hill Isaac/Nele Haag.
The duo of Makal/Sciarrotta began the doubles tournament seeded #4 as they kicked off the Round of 32 with an impressive 8-1 victory over American International College Victoria Azcona/Natalija Vlacic.
While Certain/Hagishima picked up their second victory of the tournament as they defeated the Wilmington University duo of Larize Nel/Fenna Swaan to the score of 9-7.
The duo of Lamy/Tarbujaru fell 8-5 to the duo Nina Langenfeld/Micaela Rosgnuolo as they saw tournament come to an end in the second round.
In the Round of 16, Makal/Sciarrotta matched up against #16 Adelphi pair of Gilje/Julia Kielan. The Queens duo picked up the first set victory of 7-5 before dropping the second set 6-2 as Adelphi forced a third set tiebreaker.
But Queens made sure there would be no early upset for them as they shutout the Adelphi pair with a third set victory of 10-0.
While Certain/Hagishima created an upset in their match as they dispatched STAC #12 pair of Elita Silins/Jemina Parkinson. The Knights duo won the first set 6-4 but STAC would force a second set tiebreaker but the unseeded pair had other ideas as they held their nerve to pick up a 7-6 (7-4) victory to advance to the Quarterfinals.
In the Quarterfinals it would be a Queens vs. Queens affair as one pair of Makal/Sciarrotta or Certain/Hagishima would have to see their tournament run come to an end.
Makal/Sciarrotta would emerge victorious as they advanced to the next round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Looking to advance to the final, Makal/Sciarrotta would have to go #14 Franklin Pierce pair of Ferraz/Aguilo. But the Queens duo would fall in a hard-fought match as they fell 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to see their impressive run come to end in the semi-final round.
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Alan Nagel and his Knights will now rest and prepare for a crucial East Coast Conference match on Saturday (Oct. 8) evening as they welcome St. Thomas Aquinas College to Flushing. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), Twitter (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), Women's Tennis (qcwtennis).
