BRISTOL, R.I. – Following a disappointing conclusion to their 2021 spring season, the Roger Williams University Women's Tennis team seeks their fourth Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, and first since 2007 on Tuesday afternoon. Their quest will begin when they host Western New England University in the Quarterfinals round at 4:00 PM at the RWU Tennis Courts.
 
"Our team has had a great regular season," said Head Coach Barry Gorman. "The women are very excited for the postseason. We have been working all season for this and are excited to compete for a conference championship."
 
The Hawks had a very successful regular season, going 11-1 overall and 6-1 against CCC opponents but unfortunately ended up on the wrong end of a three-way tiebreaking coin flip to determine the top seed. As a result they dropped to the third seed where they will host WNE. The Golden Bears went 2-5 this season with all of their matches coming against CCC opposition.
 
For The Hawks
RWU dominated the competition this season, outscoring their opponents 98-10, including 33-3 in doubles play and 64-7 in singles.
 
"We have been playing strong in our doubles which has given us a great start in our matches," Gorman said. "In addition, singles play has been equally as strong for us which has been great for our team."
 
The Hawks are led by possibly the best 1-2 punch in the conference at the top with juniors Emma Place (Francestown, N.H.) and Alessia Cahoon (Dedham, Mass.). Individually they have been very effective this season. Place, the reigning CCC Player of the Year last spring, primarily competed in the top flight of singles play for RWU going 7-4 on the season while Cahoon has been just as good, going 11-1 on the season while playing primarily at singles #2. However, they have been at their strongest together as the Hawks top doubles pairing as they have teamed up to go 10-1.
 
Roger Williams has also benefited greatly from the emergence of a pair of freshmen in Gianna Ferraro (Westerly, R.I.) and Gracie McCarthy (Marion, Mass.). Ferraro is a frontrunner for CCC Rookie of the Year after finishing the regular season unblemished in singles play across her 11 matches, primarily at the #3 flight. In doubles play, she has paired mostly with Olivia Santoro (Cheshire, Conn.) to go 10-1 on the season. McCarthy has been even better for RWU as she has not lost this season. Playing mostly at #5 singles in addition to #3 doubles alongside Kate Hardy (Southington, Conn.), she has gone 21-0 combined this fall. In singles, she went through a stretch that saw her drop just a single set from September 29^th against Suffolk and October 9^th against Salve Regina, a span that lasted 61 total sets. Meanwhile, in doubles, she and Hardy have finished the regular season on the right foot, as they have teamed up to win 40 of their last 44 sets to end the season.
 
Another key member of the Hawks has been Alexa DiCesare (Norwood, Mass.). The senior captain has seen the bulk of her action this fall playing at #4 singles where she has gone 10-1 while also rotating in to play some doubles action, going 2-1 on the season. The Hawks singles lineup is rounded out by Santoro who has primarily played at #6 singles and has gone 11-1.
 
For The Golden Bears
On the season, Western New England has been outscored by the opposition by a total score of 20-43. This includes a  5-16 record in doubles play and a more respectable 15-27 mark in singles action.
 
"We played Western New England earlier in October," Gorman said about the Golden Bears. "Therefore, we are fairly familiar with them. We are excited to play them again!"
 
The Golden Bears have had a lot of movement throughout their lineup but one thing that has largely remained consistent is their top two players. Their top doubles pairing has been the junior tandem of Aliza McLeish (Chicopee, Mass.) and Arriana Hasiuk (Chicopee, Mass.) after playing together at Chicopee Comprehensive High School, the duo has teamed up at the top flight of doubles play this season though they have gone 0-6 together this season. McLeish has particularly had a difficult time on the year. She has not gotten any wins this season playing as WNE's top singles player, going 0-7. Hasiuk has seen more success mostly at #2 singles and is one of two Golden Bears with a winning record in singles going 3-2.
 
At #2 doubles, WNE has primarily turned to Janet Martinelli (Vernon, Conn.) and Kaylin Gibbons (Berkley, Mass.) and they have been the team's most successful doubles pairing going 2-3 together this season. Individually, Martinelli has spent most of her time playing #3 singles where she has gone 1-4 this season. Gibbons has only played one match in singles, going 0-1.
 
Their most common pairing at #3 doubles has been Jennifer Arling (Cromwell, Conn.) and Hailey MacDonald (West Springfield, Mass.), and they have gone 2-4 on the season. Arling has gone 2-2 this season in singles play while spending time at the fourth, fifth and sixth flights this year. MacDonald has not seen playing time at singles play yet this season.
 
The other two most common players for Western New England have been Eiren Klesczewski (Suffield, Conn.) and Sydney Lewis (Goffstown, N.H.) and they spent a lot of time flipping back and forth between #4 and #5 singles this fall. Kiesczewski has gone 3-4 this season while Lewis has also gone 3-4.
 
Previous Meetings
The Hawks and the Golden Bears dueled a couple weeks ago in Springfield, and they played to an RWU sweep, 9-0. Roger Williams won the doubles matches by a combined score of 24-6 while also winning 69 of the 83 sets in singles action. All-time, the Hawks have won 21 of the 22 matchups against WNE, including the last 18 dating all the way back to 2008.
 
How To Follow Along
Spectators are allowed to attend Roger Williams athletic events this fall but we do ask that you follow all Roger Williams COVID-19 health and safety protocols detailed at https://www.rwu.edu/reopening-roger.
 
For those who do want to attend, action starts at the RWU Tennis Courts at 4:00 PM.
 
If you cannot make it to the match, you can still follow along by watching our video stream.
 
VIDEO:  https://rwuhawks.com/sports/2021/3/26/womens-tennis-live-video.aspx