WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — The Wagner women's tennis team defeated No. 5 Stonehill in the NEC Tennis quarterfinals 4-2, to advance to the semifinal round.
This is the second consecutive season that the Seahawks eliminated Stonehill on the way to the semifinals, this time as the higher seed.
The Seahawks fell behind early, dropping the doubles point after losses on courts 1 and 2. Senior
Samantha Bentsianov and sophomore
Liepa Sataite were the only doubles pair to get a win in the round (6-4), as Wagner fell behind 1-0.
Sataite got things started in the singles round with a straight-set win on court 2 (6-2, 6-2), tying the match at one. After Stonehill took a 2-1 lead with a win on court 3, junior
Dariana Vera tied the match back up at two with the first of three come-from-behind victories for the Seahawks (1-6, 6-2, 6-1). Freshman
Alexia Estrada came next after dropping her first set 2-6 on court 4, then battling her way to a 6-4 win in set two, and a 6-3 win in set three, which game Wagner a 3-2 lead.
Finally, despite losing the first set 1-6, and being down five games to one in the second set, sophomore
Victoria Madail came roaring back to win her second set 7-5 on court 1. She finished off Wagner's third comeback of the day by watching the return shot sail wide, winning the set 6-4, and sending the Seahawks to the next round.
The Seahawks will play the winner of No. 1 FDU and No. 9 Binghamton in the semifinal round. First serve is set for 9 a.m. at the Mercer County Tennis Center.
