BRISTOL, R.I. – In the first conference tournament set to be held under the new moniker, the No. 4 Roger Williams University women's tennis team is set to host No. 5 Curry in a Conference of New England (CNE) Tournament First Round matchup on Tuesday afternoon on the RWU Tennis Courts.
Curry, earned the No 5 seed in the conference tournament after posting a 3-10 record on the season, with a 2-4 record within the CNE. The Colonels, picked up key victories over Western New England and Suffolk to clinch a spot in the CNE Tournament.
For Roger Williams, the Hawks posted an 11-3 record during the regular season, while posting a 4-2 record in conference play. The Hawks were in a three-way tie for second place with Gordon and Endicott, being placed as the No. 4 seed after the tiebreakers went in favor of the Fighting Scots and Gulls.
The Hawks are 29-1-1 all-time against the Colonels, winning their last 27 matches dating back to Oct. 30, 1996. The last time the two programs met in the conference tournament was on Oct. 16, 2007 in the quarterfinals in Bristol, R.I., where the Hawks took a 8-1 victory.
The last time these two teams met was on Oct. 8 in Milton, Mass. where the Hawks took a 7-0 victory over the Colonels. The Hawks swept in both doubles and singles play in the victory.
Based on the lineups submitted by each team ahead of postseason play, Curry will turn to their No. 1 doubles pairing of Ella Hurley and Serena Wilson, who posted a 3-1 record playing together at the No. 1 spot this season. The Hawks will send out
Gianna Ferraro (Westerly, R.I.) and
Valentina Abarca (Riobamba, Ecuador) who have combined for a 5-1 record at the No. 1 slot. At No. 2 doubles, the Colonels' Grace Coopee and Cayla Osowski (1-10) will face
Ella Mancini (Middlebury, Conn.) and
Izzy Pecora (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) (3-1). The No. 3 spot will take place between Sami Ferrara and Kaitliyn Foster (2-2) and
Gracie McCarthy (Marion, Mass.) and
Gabrielle Petroniro (Wolcott, Conn.) (8-4).
In singles play, Ferraro (11-3) will take on Hurley (0-9) at the top singles spot, while No. 2 singles will be a match between Pecora (7-6) and Wilson (3-3). At No. 3 Abarca (11-3) will take on Ferrara (3-8), with Mancini (12-2) facing off against Coopee (3-8). The singles matches will round out with Osowski (2-9) representing Curry against
Adriana Palmieri (Southington, Conn.) (10-4) of the Hawks at No. 5 singles, and No. 6 singles will take place between Foster (2-9) and Petroniro (9-3).
Roger Williams and Curry will match up on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 4:00 pm on the RWU Tennis Courts. The winner will advance to play No. 1 Nichols on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 3:30 pm in Dudley, Mass. The other side of the bracket will feature No. 6 Suffolk at No. 3 Endicott on Tuesday beginning at 2:00 pm with the winner advancing to face No. 2 Gordon on Thursday.
