EDGEWATER, N.J. (May 7, 2022) – The No. 1 seed Stevens Institute of Technology women's tennis team defeated No. 2 Wilkes to capture their first ever MAC Freedom title on Saturday, May 7. The Ducks defeated the Colonels by a score of 5-1 at the Binghamton Racquet Club in Edgewater, New Jersey.
Stevens won two of the three doubles matches and the first three singles matches to secure the MAC Freedom Championship and NCAA bid. With the win, the Ducks improved to 11-4 on the season and Wilkes fell to 10-7. The victory for the Ducks ended the Colonels' streak of 14-straight MAC Freedom titles.
"Today is a very special day for our program," head coach
Arik Zeevy said. "Our group has been through a lot together over the last two years and today meant so much more because of it. A huge credit to Wilkes, who competed like champions and pushed us to the absolute limit."
"We have improved all year and continued that trend today, playing some of our best doubles of the season to go up 2-1," Zeevy continued. "Wilkes put us on our back foot early in singles play, but we were able to get it done in the end. Emma secured the third point early, and Audrey and Polina each battled back from a set down to secure the team win."
Senior
Agatha Malinowski and junior
Audrey Heaberlin took the first match of the day by a score of 8-0 at first doubles and sophomore
Polina Odintseva paired with junior
Juliette Marchisio won 8-3 from the third position.
At singles, first-year
Emma Eguia won 6-1, 6-0 from the sixth position to start. Heaberlin battled from a set down to win 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 at second singles and then Odintseva clinched the match with a thrilling 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory from the fourth spot.
"It's been a real journey with this group over the last two years, and I am so proud to be their coach and to continue growing alongside them," Zeevy shared.
Heaberlin was named MVP for her performance in the championship tournament.
Up Next: The Ducks received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for May 23-29.
