FLUSHING, N.Y. – Back on the championship stage, the nationally ranked No. 32 Queens College women's tennis team made it count, successfully defending its East Coast Conference title with a commanding 4-0 sweep of D'Youville University inside the QC Indoor Tennis Bubble.
Facing the No. 2-seeded Saints, the Knights secured the doubles point and carried that momentum into singles play with three straight-set victories. ECC Player of the Year and No. 69-ranked junior
Lilie Bizouerne (La Ciotat, France) delivered the clinching point at No. 3 singles, sealing the shutout and back-to-back conference crowns.
With the victory, Queens improves to 16-4 overall, earns the ECC's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament, and records its highest win total since the 2015-16 season. Under head coach
Alan Nagel, the Knights claim their 11th ECC title and fourth in the last seven seasons.
Doubles Play
Queens set the tone early with a strong showing in doubles. At No. 3, senior
Lydia Zafeiri (Athens, Greece) and sophomore
Johanne Genestay (Dinan, France) cruised to a 6-1 win over Maria Campisi and Yeli Prokopenko.
The Knights clinched the doubles point at No. 2, where juniors Bizouerne and
Sixtine Goubet (Lyon, France) secured a 6-2 victory over Erika Ismailova and Mina Randjelovic to give Queens a 1-0 lead.
The No. 1 doubles match went unfinished.
Singles Play
Queens continued its dominant form in singles, extending the lead to 3-0 behind decisive wins from senior
Regina Ruiz (Mexico City, Mexico) at No. 6 and Genestay at No. 5. Ruiz blanked Prokopenko, while Genestay earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
Bizouerne then put the finishing touches on the championship effort, defeating Randjelovic 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 to clinch the match and secure the Knights' second straight ECC title.
Matches at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 were left unfinished.
Next Match:
With the automatic bid secured, Queens will await its NCAA Tournament opponent, to be announced Monday, May 4. More details to follow soon.
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).
