WEST POINT, N.Y. – Playing to extend their fall seasons, Navy women's tennis seniors
Emily Tannenbaum and
Parvathi Shanker battled their way through the Patriot League's ITA Conference Masters qualifying tournament this weekend at the Malek Tennis Center in West Point, N.Y., earning the league's singles and doubles bids to the upcoming ITA Conference Masters Championship.
With Tannenbaum advancing through the qualifier's singles bracket, the Midshipmen pairing of Tannenbaum and Shanker also pushed its way to a berth in the ITA's newest event in two weeks on the doubles side, keeping the Mids' hopes alive of reaching the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.
In doubles play, the Navy duo opened up Friday with a 6-1 quarterfinal win over Lafayette's Alyssa Perdomo and Hanna Ganchi, while a 6-2 victory in Saturday's semifinals against Loyola's Christine Richiez and Lauren Manwiller paved the way to the finals. With a berth on the line Sunday, Tannenbaum and Shanker outlasted Boston team of Gabriella Mikaul and Uma Bakaityte, 6-4, to clinch automatic qualification in the ITA Conference Masters' doubles draw.
While Shanker suffered a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Army's Emma Sy in the singles round-of-16, Tannenbaum continued her impressive career record against Patriot League competition. Following a 6-4, 6-3 win against Maggie Forkner of Lehigh in the round-of-16 on Friday, the three-time All-Patriot League First Teamer had a tough first set against Mikaul in Saturday's quarterfinals but then dominated the next two sets for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 victory and then defeated Army' Cooper Jackson later that day in the semifinals, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1). Matching up with Bakaityte in the singles finals, Tannenbaum battled the league's reigning Rookie of the Year to a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory and claim the Patriot League's AQ bid into the ITA singles draw.
Tannenbaum and Shanker will now head to the inaugural ITA Conference Masters Championship in Rome, Ga., on Nov. 7-10. With a draw size of 32 for both singles and doubles, the four singles semifinalists at the event will earn berths in the NCAA Singles Championship, while the first-, second- and third-place doubles team will all qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship. The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships are scheduled for Nov. 19-24 in Waco, Texas.
