Women's Tennis 5/3/2016 6:55:00 PM

Women's tennis ousts Catholic to reach 12th straight title match

Results

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Elizabethtown College women's tennis will defend its Landmark Conference championship after a 5-1 win over Catholic in the semifinals Tuesday afternoon at the Alumni Courts.

Senior Lauren Berry, the 2015 Landmark Championship MVP, clinched the match for the Blue Jays (14-3) with a comeback victory at third singles against Sarah MacLean 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Tuesday's result pushes head coach Matt Helsel's team into a conference championship match for the 12th consecutive season. Elizabethtown has won six league titles in a row going back to its days as a member of the Commonwealth Conference, and is 9-3 in championship matches since 2004.

Top-seeded E-town got off to a roaring start against the fourth-seeded Cardinals (10-7), whom the Jays were facing in the Landmark semifinals for the second year in a row.

Berry and sophomore Sam Procak extended their winning streak to 10 matches at second doubles, where they held Jenna Gietl and Erin Cole without a point in an 8-0 decision. Berry and Procak have shutout each of their last three opponents and Tuesday marked the fifth time they've won by an 8-0 score this spring.

At first doubles, Taylor Helsel and Madison McCall withstood a tremendous rally by Catholic's Laura Torsiello and MacLean. Helsel and McCall were up 7-1 before the Cards' duo won five games in a row to inch within 7-6, but that was as close as they'd get. The Blue Jays' pairing broke serve in the next game to take the match 8-6 and put the hosts up 2-0.

Catholic nabbed its lone doubles point at No. 3 where Lindsay Rekstis and Maria Flores won by an 8-5 score.

The final outcome notwithstanding, five of the six singles matches proved extremely tight. Three went to a third set and two more were likely headed there had Berry not clinched when she did. Freshman Meghan Chemidlin (No. 5) won her opening set and fellow rookie Laura Gribble was a point away from winning her second set at sixth singles against Maria Flores before the match was complete.

Madison McCall also saw her second singles match go unfinished. McCall was locked in a battle with Gietl, winning the first set 6-3, before Gietl won the second 6-2 and led 4-2 in the third.

Procak had no intentions of going three, however. She put together a crisp showing to defeat Rekstis 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 for her 10th consecutive victory. Helsel put the Jays on the brink of another title shot with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win against Torsiello at No. 1.

Berry moved closer to the 40-win mark in her singles career with her comeback win over MacLean. The Dillsburg product, named Landmark Athlete of the Week Monday, currently sits at 39.

Elizabethtown will face the winner of the conference's other semifinal between No. 2 Scranton and No. 3 Juniata on Saturday at the Alumni Courts. The Blue Jays downed Scranton, 5-2, in last year's Landmark Conference championship match. A start time has not been announced at this time.

Elizabethtown 5, Catholic 1
May 3, 2016 at Elizabethtown, Pa. (Alumni Courts)

Singles competition

1. Taylor Helsel (ETOWN) def. Laura Torsiello (CUA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

2. Madison McCall (ETOWN) vs. Jenna Gietl (CUA) 6-3, 2-6, 2-4, unfinished

3. Lauren Berry (ETOWN) def. Sarah MacLean (CUA) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2

4. Sam Procak (ETOWN) def. Lindsay Rekstis (CUA) 6-1, 6-2

5. Meghan Chemidlin (ETOWN) vs. Erin Cole (CUA) 6-4, 2-5, unfinished

6. Laura Gribble (ETOWN) vs. Maria Flores (CUA) 4-6, 5-2, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Taylor Helsel/Madison McCall (ETOWN) def. Laura Torsiello/Sarah MacLean (CUA) 8-6

2. Lauren Berry/Sam Procak (ETOWN) def. Jenna Gietl/Erin Cole (CUA) 8-0

3. Lindsay Rekstis/Maria Flores (CUA) def. Meghan Chemidlin/Laura Gribble (ETOWN) 8-5

Match Notes

Catholic 10-7

Elizabethtown 14-3

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

Landmark Conference Semifinals

(1) Elizabethtown vs. (4) Catholic

Elizabethtown advances to Landmark Conference Championship and will

host (2) Scranton vs. (3) Juniata winner Saturday

Official: Carol Lefever T-3:10 A-33

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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