DANVILLE, Ky. (CentreColonels.com) – The Centre women's tennis team capped the 2016-17 regular season with an 8-1 victory over visiting Hendrix for the Colonels' ninth consecutive triumph. The Colonels finish the regular season with a 12-6 overall mark with a 6-1 ledger in Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play, good for second place in the conference.
It was senior day for Centre's Courtney DeLong (Louisville, Ky.) and Mary Chapin Snow (Elizabethtown, Ky.), who combined to go 4-0 on the day to help the Colonels to victory.
DeLong and Snow collected an 8-1 win in doubles play before DeLong picked up a 6-0, 6-2 triumph at No. 5 singles and Snow bested her opponent 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 6 slot.
It was also a historic day for Centre, as junior Aliza Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio) set the program's single-season record with 32 combined singles and doubles victories on the year, as she picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles after an 8-1 victory with teammate Neha Rao (London, Ky.) in doubles competition. That doubles tandem also set a new program record for doubles wins in a season with 16.
Rao topped her opponent 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles, while sophomores Abigail Kent (College Station, Texas) and Emily Zelichenok (Louisville, Ky.) earned wins at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively.
The Colonels enter next weekend's SAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face the Warriors once again in the first round on Friday, April 21 at 9am CT at Burns Park in North Little Rock, Ark.
Singles Competition
1. Neha Rao (CENTRE-W) def. Pratheepa Ravikumar (HC) 6-1, 6-1
2. Aliza Williams (CENTRE-W) def. Julia Lefler (HC) 6-4, 6-2
3. Abigail Kent (CENTRE-W) def. Lauren Mahaney (HC) 6-3, 6-0
4. Emily Zelichenok (CENTRE-W) def. Rebecca Sherman (HC) 6-4, 7-5
5. Courtney DeLong (CENTRE-W) def. Sarah Walker (HC) 6-0, 6-2
6. Mary Chapin Snow (CENTRE-W) def. Sarah Nieman (HC) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Neha Rao / Aliza Williams (CENTRE-W) def. Pratheepa Ravikumar / Rebecca Sherman (HC) 8-1
2. Julia Lefler / Lauren Mahaney (HC) def. Abigail Kent / Emily Zelichenok (CENTRE-W) 9-7
3. Courtney DeLong / Mary Chapin Snow (CENTRE-W) def. Sarah Walker / Sarah Nieman (HC) 8-1
