Women's Tennis 5/12/2016 3:00:00 PM

Women's tennis advances to second round of NCAA Tournament

Results

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Elizabethtown women's tennis put sustained pressure on Penn State Behrend in their NCAA Division III Tournament First Round match Thursday afternoon at Middlebury College. The Blue Jays eliminated the Lions with a 5-1 victory and advanced to the Second Round for the first time since 2013.

The win was E-town's third in the national tournament all-time and extended its winning streak to 13 matches, one off the school record of 14 set back in 2004 when the Jays went 14-0.

Taylor Helsel and Madison McCall got the Blue and Gray started at first doubles, downing the Lions' (15-9) Chelsea Czerwinski and Morgan Kramer, 8-3, to run their record to 15-3 on the season.

Penn State Behrend, champion of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), got a point back at third doubles from the undefeated (20-0) team of Celeste Bentley and Kelly Miller, 8-3, over the Jays' Meghan Chemidlin and Laura Gribble. Elizabethtown (16-3) answered right back, though.

Lauren Berry and Sam Procak opened up a sizable lead on Jacqueline Cannella and Colleen Miller in their No. 2 doubles match, scoring an 8-2 win for their 13th victory in 14 matches this spring.

The Blue Jays wasted no time setting up a second round matchup with nationally-ranked No. 13 Johns Hopkins Friday at 8:30 a.m., on Middlebury's Proctor Tennis Courts.

Junior Madison McCall swept Kat McDonough 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles to put E-town up 3-1. McCall tied Emily Swarr for ninth on the program's career singles wins list with her 46th.

Berry, a senior from Dillsburg, followed with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Cannella at No. 3 and Sam Procak clinched the win for the Blue Jays at No. 4, 6-3, 6-0, over Bentley.

Elizabethtown won five of six first sets before the match was halted. No. 1 Helsel was leading Czerwinski 6-4, 4-2. At No. 5, Chemidlin took the first set 6-3 over Colleen Miller. Miller held a 4-1 lead in the second. No. 6 Gribble had turned around a 6-4 loss in her opening set to Malinda Miller to lead 4-1 in the second.

E-town earned a berth to the tournament as champions of the Landmark Conference and were facing the Lions for the first time in program history. The Blue Jays won a first round match for the third time in the last five years. In 2012, they knocked out Endicott and in 2013, took out Hunter. SUNY Geneseo got the best of the Jays in the first round of both the 2014 and 2015 tournaments.

Friday's match against No. 13 Hopkins –a battle among Blue Jays– will be the first between the teams since a 5-0 JHU win in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA DIII Tournament.

Elizabethtown 5, Penn State Behrend 1
May 12, 2016 at Middlebury, Vt. (Proctor Tennis Courts)

Singles competition

1. Taylor Helsel (ETOWN) vs. Chelsea Czerwinski (PSBEH) 6-4, 4-2, unfinished

2. Madison McCall (ETOWN) def. Kat McDonough (PSBEH) 6-0, 6-0

3. Lauren Berry (ETOWN) def. Jacqueline Cannella (PSBEH) 6-1, 6-0

4. Sam Procak (ETOWN) def. Celeste Bentley (PSBEH) 6-3, 6-0

5. Meghan Chemidlin (ETOWN) vs. Colleen Miller (PSBEH) 6-3, 1-4, unfinished

6. Laura Gribble (ETOWN) vs. Malinda Miller (PSBEH) 4-6, 4-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Taylor Helsel/Madison McCall (ETOWN) def. Chelsea Czerwinski/Morgan Kramer (PSBEH) 8-3

2. Lauren Berry/Sam Procak (ETOWN) def. Jacqueline Cannella/Colleen Miller (PSBEH) 8-2

3. Celeste Bentley/Kelly Miller (PSBEH) def. Meghan Chemidlin/Laura Gribble (ETOWN) 8-3

Match Notes

Penn State Behrend 15-9

Elizabethtown 16-3

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,4)

2016 NCAA Division III Tournament First Round

Elizabethtown advances to play Johns Hopkins tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m.

T-2:07 A-25

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Berry: 5' 1"; Senior

Taylor Helsel: 5' 4"; Junior

Madison McCall: 5' 2"; Junior

Sam Procak: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Meghan Chemidlin: 5' 3"; Freshman

Laura Gribble: 5' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Lauren Berry
: 5' 1"; Senior

Taylor Helsel
: 5' 4"; Junior

Madison McCall
: 5' 2"; Junior

Sam Procak
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Meghan Chemidlin
: 5' 3"; Freshman

Laura Gribble
: 5' 3"; Freshman