(Courtesy of yumacs.com) The Yeshiva University women’s tennis team made history on Sunday afternoon, as the top-seeded Maccabees captured the Skyline Conference Championship, with a 5-1 win over number three Mount Saint Mary, at the USTA National Tennis Center. With the win, the women’s tennis team becomes the first women’s program in school history to earn a bid into the NCAA tournament. This is the program’s first conference championship since 1999.
Senior Shani Hava was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Skyline tournament.
“This team came together like no other,” Yeshiva University Head Coach Naomi Kaszovitz said. “They truly took ownership of the team. They bonded with the athletics staff, coaches and each other. That led to this win, in addition to their strength as student-athletes being unmatched. I am humbled as a coach by this tremendous win, and I am so proud to represent them and Yeshiva University.”
The Maccabees (10-1) won two out of three doubles matches and were victorious in all three completed singles matches.
Sophomore Michal Ladenheim and classmate Bailey Frohlich started it off with a convincing win in the third doubles position, 8-1. Hava and junior Rebecca Packer continued YU’s momentum with a narrow win in the first doubles flight, 8-6. Senior Andrea Weiss and classmate Rachel Slater won six games for Yeshiva, but Mount Saint Mary (8-9) was able to win the second doubles position, 8-6.
In singles play, Ladenheim gave Yeshiva a 3-1 lead, by winning at #6 singles, 6-3, 6-0. Packer followed up by winning the third singles flight, 6-0, 6-1. It was none other than Hava, who clinched the Skyline championship for Yeshiva by winning the first singles position, 6-1, 6-4.
“It has been an honor to represent Yeshiva University and lead them to the Skyline Conference Championship and the first ever YU women’s NCAA bid,” Hava said. “This win is the culmination of the last four years of hard work, having a strong team overall and the support of the YU Athletics Department. I believe this sets the precedent for continued success for the program, and I am looking forward to competing this spring in the NCAA tournament.”
Senior Adele Lerner won the first set at #2 singles, 6-1. She had a 2-1 lead in the second set, but the match was not completed. Slater and Frohlich also won the first sets, at #4 and #5 singles respectively, as their matches also went unfinished.
“This historic win shows that women’s athletics at YU has come of age,” Director of Athletics, Joe Bednarsh said. “These young women were tenacious, untiring and determined as they swept through the regular season, and the playoffs saw them step it up to another level. After three years of having the season cut short in the semi-finals, we finally broke through and can show off the trophy and raise a banner in the gym. This championship is the culmination of years of hard work and each one of these student-athletes should be incredibly proud of what they accomplished.”
The NCAA Division III tournament will take place in May.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them, the championship they brought home and the mark they set for future female student-athletes at Yeshiva University,” Bednarsh said.
