FLUSHING, NY – Last fall, the Hunter College Hawks won their tenth consecutive CUNY Athletic Conference / Hospital For Special Surgery Women’s Tennis Championship, but maybe it’s time for the Hawks to come back to the field.
The 2010 CUNYAC/HSS Championship is the first senior college event on the calendar and will get underway on Tuesday, October 19 with four quarterfinals at the higher seeded team’s home courts. Then on Friday, October 22, the action moves to the world-renowned USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows for the semifinals at 4:00 pm with simultaneous side-by-side serves and slams. The final match, which will determine CUNYAC’s representative in the 2011 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championsip (May 13) will be played there on Saturday, October 23 at 2:00 pm.
Hunter Hawks (13-3, 9-0 CUNYAC)
Hunter will be without the services of three-time Tournament MVP Evgeniya Kim (graduation), along with the next four singles stars from last season’s championship team, which went 9-0 in CUNYAC and 13-3 overall. But Head Coach David Eddy’s squad added two NJCAA All-Americans from Kingsborough in Epraksi Yushkova and Arielle Kamin, the duo that helped the Wave to the National title in 2009 as freshman. Junior Ericka Jaramillo, who played #6 for Hunter last year is the team’s top returnee and one of her former high school classmates at Townsend Harris HS, Jane Selegean is a freshman to watch for the Hawks.
Brooklyn Bulldogs (12-6, 8-1)
Under second-year Head Coach Ahmad Odetalla, the Brooklyn Women’s Tennis team will look to duplicate its successful 2009 campaign, in which the team finished with an 12-6 overall record, while going 8-1 in the CUNY Athletic Conference. The team would go on to earn the second seed in the conference tournament, eventually falling in the semifinals to Baruch College.
The 2009 season was a banner year for BC; as five players would go on to earn conference honors, the most by any other CUNYAC team. Coach Odetalla will rely heavily on Diana Derks (fifth singles), as the only returning all-conference honoree from a season ago, to help lead the 2010 edition of the team.
Derks will look to repeat her successful ’09 campaign that saw her post an 11-2 singles record en route to earning all conference honors. Head Coach Odetalla on Derks: “Diana Derks is this year's captain. She already has gained the respect of both her teammates and her coach.”
Along with Derks, Diana Rafailova and Hadiya Cameron are the other returning letter winners for Brooklyn this season. Rafailova posted a 4-1 singles record and a 7-4 record in doubles play, while Cameron recorded an unblemished 3-0 singles mark. Coach Odetalla will look towards his three returners to step up their games and take on more of a leadership role this season.
The newcomers to this year’s Women’s Tennis squad include Liana Rivkin, Maria Sanz, Gianna Gelosi, Sharon Guzi and Jacqueline Szpunt. Coach Odetalla on the 2010 season: “We're excited about this upcoming year and we are preparing well for the competition we will face. This team has the talent and work ethic to perform well this season and the personality to enjoy every moment of it.”
Baruch Bearcats (11-5, 7-2)
The women’s tennis team will likely be undergoing a rebuilding year after graduating six players last season.
The team coached by Florin Giuglescu returns starting singles player Kristine Kraujina and Alina Bero, along with Barbara Lucas and Natasha Gregorio. However, the overall roster will be mostly new with eight new faces looking to compete this season.
The Bearcats have finished second in the CUNYAC Tournament during the past five years, and will look to return again to the championship match looking to finally win the title and automatic berth.
The non-conference schedule is again very competitive with matches against Purchase State, Kean, Mount Saint Mary, Rutgers-Newark and William Paterson.
Baruch will host CUNYAC opponents CCNY, John Jay, Lehman and York. The road showdown against rival Hunter, a re-match of the last five CUNYAC Championships, is scheduled for September 21 at the USTA National Tennis Center.
Staten Island Dolphins (8-11, 5-4)
The College of Staten Island women's tennis team will be looking to set a new, impressive mark on the 2010 campaign, bringing back a host of talent while adding a pair of players who are expected to compete at a high level.
What the Dolphins lack in roster numbers (CSI boasts just eight players on the roster), the team hopes to make up with talent from top to bottom, one that will look to improve on an 8-11 season a year ago. CSI finished 5-4 in conference play last year, but were a first-round exit come playoff time, something the Dolphins are looking to turn around in 2010.
"We want to establish ourselves as one of the top teams in the conference this year," said four-yeard head coach Paul Ricciardi, who was the 2010 CUNYAC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year after a second-straight regular season championship with the men. "Our team is really working hard and we have improved a lot from one year to the next."
Ricciardi is alluding to his cluster of five returning players to the 2010 ranks, including No. 1 Singles ace Gabriella Villarruel. The two-sport star who also is a standout swimmer, boasted a 9-7 mark at the top spot last year, which included a 5-2 record in CUNY. Also returning for their senior seasons are Qing Li, who finished 9-6 a year ago (6-3 in her usual No. 4 Singles spot) and Nancy Almazo, who played everywhere from 3-6 last year and finished 8-8 in Singles play.
Fellow senior Yelena Rasporskaya will join the team in 2010 after only appearing in a couple of matches a year ago. Rasporskaya finished 9-7 (which included a 4-1 mark at No. 3 Singles) in 2008. She will be joined by sophomores Justine Kuna and Tara Colao, who combined for a respectable 9-12 mark in their freshman campaign a year ago. With a much-improved off-season, the two are expected to fill in nicely.
The Dolphins may be thin on incoming recruits, topping out with only a pair of new faces, but Ricciardi feels its enough to tip the scales in CSI's favor. Ilona Stoyko, is a dynamic freshman who can easily see time at the top of the lineup in both singles and doubles, complementing Villarruel, while academic junior Noory Croos, a local product from Curtis High School should be available coming in to the season and will provide depth near the bottom of the order.
The combination of an established roster and the two newcomers are critical to the Dolphins success this year.
York Cardinals 4-5, 5-7
The 2010 York College Women’s Tennis team will look to build off a strong inaugural campaign in 2010. The Lady Cardinals started the program off with a bang in 2009, winning its first three matches in the program’s history. They would eventually qualify for the CUNYAC playoffs in their first ever season, before getting ousted in the quarterfinals
This year they return a number of key players who can bring the program to the next step in their second season. Returning for York is Allana Wilson and Amba Chanoine. Wilson played #2 singles for the Lady Cardinals, picking up three wins, while Chanoine played primarily third singles and earned four wins on the year. Also returning for York will be Nina Olladikankwu and Jesmin Bhuyan. Both players contributed at fifth and sixth singles in 2009. Newcomers Lisa Atkins and Nicole Jones will also be looked upon for contributions.
With some solid returning players and some promising freshman, the Lady Cardinals are poised to build off their successful 2009 campaign. If everything comes together, York could make a run at the title.
John Jay Bloodhounds 2-7, 2-14
The 2010 women’s tennis season is looking optimistic as the Bloodhounds look to build upon last season. Backed by second year head coach, Natalija Subotic, the Bloodhounds are looking to improve and make a dent in the CUNYAC standings.
“I look forward to the return of key players from previous years and to work with our incoming freshmen and seeing the young women progress,” said Subotic. “We have more depth this year and I am confident in a successful season.”
Last season the Bloodhounds earned a pair of wins against conference foes Medgar Evers College and the City College of New York. And with a talented roster on the courts this season, the Bloodhounds should be optimistic about their chances in 2010.
Back this season are the No. 1 singles players from the past two seasons, including Ashley Marrero who was No. 1 on the roster last season and Elizabeth Cyran who is back after a one year hiatus, she was a No. 1 singles player during 2008. Also back this season is Lauren Mallon and Jessica Eng who both played two seasons ago
A solid group of newcomers are aboard as well including Crystal Charles, Diana Jadduroy, Janet Lamberty and Halam Katherine Seo.
The following schools did not provide previews for this release: CCNY Beavers (3-11,3-6 CUNYAC), City Tech Yellow Jackets (3-11, 2-7), Lehman Lightning (12-7, 5-4) Medgar Evers Cougars (0-14, 0-9).
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