ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE WOMEN'S TENNIS
Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Moravian Claims Commonwealth Conference Title With 5-4 Win Over Elizabethtown in Completion of Championship Match

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- It took a total of five hours and seven minutes spread over two days of competition held more than a week apart, but in the end Moravian College emerged as the 2006 Commonwealth Conference team champion with the completion of a hard-fought 5-4 victory Tuesday over Elizabethtown College at Elizabethtown. Moravian, which had finished as the conference runner-up to Elizabethtown each of the previous two seasons, reclaimed the conference title from the Blue Jays after winning consecutive crowns from 2000 to 2003. Moravian is now 12-1 overall in 2006-07, and Elizabethtown is 13-2 overall.

Elizabethtown took a 1-0 lead October 15 as the number one doubles tandem of Stacy Shapiro (Audubon, PA/Methacton) and Emma Smith (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) cruised to an 8-3 win. Moravian struck back by winning the other two doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead, as Brittany Popaca (Lavallette, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) and Mary Kate Kelly (Beach Haven, NJ/Southern Regional) won 8-6 at number two, and as Dyana Swan (Branchburg, NJ/Somerville) and Kelly Gerbino (Easton, PA/Easton) won 8-6 at third doubles.

Singles competition began October 15, and Elizabethtown’s Alice Yu (Athens, GA/Clarke Central) quickly tied the match 2-2 by winning a 6-0, 6-0 shutout at number five. Etown took a 3-2 lead when Shapiro completed a 6-2, 6-3 win at number one, and the Blue Jays went up 4-2 when Smith finished a 6-2, 6-1 win at number two.

Although Elizabethtown held the lead at that point and needed to win just one of the three remaining contests to win the match, that lead was far from safe as Moravian led all three of the remaining singles matches. Moravian cut the gap to 4-3 as number four singles finished with Kelly emerging victorious in a three-set, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win. Later in the day, Popaca tied the match for Moravian at 4-4 with a 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) win at third singles.

In the number six singles match October 15, Moravian’s Rebecca Angstadt (Hamburg, PA/Hamburg) won the first set over Etown’s Heather Lander (Accident, MD/Northern Garrett) 6-4, but Lander tied the second set 6-6 to force a set tiebreaker. Darkness fell upon the match with Angstadt clinging to a 5-3 lead in the tiebreaker.

The match resumed October 24 with Lander claiming the first point to cut the gap in the first-to-seven tiebreaker to 5-4. Angstadt followed with a point to take a 6-4 lead, and Lander won the next point to cut the gap to 6-5. Angstadt then won the match on a service ace, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). The four points played Tuesday took a total of 19 minutes to complete.

Moravian’s Popaca was named the Commonwealth Conference championship tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Elizabethtown will return to action on the road in its annual Spring Break training trip to Hilton Head, S.C. March 3 through March 10, 2007.

at Elizabethtown, Pa.
Moravian College 5, Elizabethtown College 4
Singles competition
1. Shapiro, Stacy (ETOWN) def. Kokolus, Margo (MOR) 6-2, 6-3
2. Smith, Emma (ETOWN) def. Swan, Dyana (MOR) 6-2, 6-1
3. Popaca, Brittany (MOR) def. Swarr, Emily (ETOWN) 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Kelly, Mary Kate (MOR) def. Martinez, Cathie (ETOWN) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
5. Yu, Alice (ETOWN) def. Yelito, Jennel (MOR) 6-0, 6-0
6. Angstadt, Rebecca (MOR) def. Lander, Heather (ETOWN) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. Shapiro, Stacy/Smith, Emma (ETOWN) def. Kokolus, Margo/Hall, Courtney (MOR) 8-3
2. Popaca, Brittany/Kelly, Mary Kate (MOR) def. Yu, Alice/Swarr, Emily (ETOWN) 8-6
3. Swan, Dyana/Gerbino, Kelly (MOR) def. Lander, Heather/Martinez, Cathie (ETOWN) 8-6
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,2,1,4,3,6)