BRISTOL, R.I. – The second-seeded Roger Williams University women's tennis team opens the Conference of New England Tournament on Thursday, Oct. 29, hosting No. 3 Gordon in the semifinal round at 4 p.m. at the RWU Tennis Courts.
The Hawks received a first-round bye after completing the regular season with a 13-2 record. Roger Williams compiled a 75-15 singles record and a 38-7 doubles mark during the fall.
Iris Gkrekou (Athens, Greece), Ella Mancini (Middlebury, Conn.) and Adriana Palmieri (Southington, Conn.) each enter the postseason with 14-1 singles records. Valentina Abarca (Riobamba, Ecuador) is 11-4 at No. 1, while Scarlett Bernard (Westwood, Mass.) owns a 10-2 record at No. 6.
In doubles, Abarca and Gkrekou are 11-2 at the top flight, Megan Bache (Westbrook, Conn.) and Palmieri are 9-3 at No. 2, and Mancini and Claire Dwyer (Manchester, Maine) are 10-2 primarily at No. 3.
Gordon advanced by defeating sixth-seeded Western New England, 4-0, in Tuesday's quarterfinal. The Fighting Scots captured the doubles point before Lucille Belval, Chloe Hanley and Makayla Otey earned straight-set singles victories.
Based on the submitted postseason lineups, Abarca is expected to face Belval at No. 1 singles, followed by Gkrekou against Hanley at No. 2 and Bache against Serena Ross at No. 3. Mancini is projected to meet Amanda Kim at No. 4, Palmieri is expected to face Otey at No. 5, and Bernard is slated to play Gianna Hallam at No. 6.
The projected doubles matchups feature Abarca and Gkrekou against Belval and Otey at No. 1. Bache and Palmieri are expected to face Ross and Kim at No. 2, while Mancini and Dwyer are projected to meet Hanley and Abigail Goodwin at No. 3.
Thursday's semifinal is a rematch of RWU's 4-3 regular-season victory on Sept. 15 in Bristol. The Hawks earned the doubles point behind 6-1 wins from Bache and Palmieri at No. 2 and Mancini and Dwyer at No. 3.
Gkrekou and Mancini added straight-set singles victories before Palmieri rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 5 to clinch the match.
The winner will advance to Saturday's CNE championship match.
