GENEVA, NY (September 29, 2014) – Freshman Kate Christensen (Los Angeles, CA/Connections Academy) capped off an outstanding weekend at the ITA Northeast Regional Tournament, winning the singles championship in dominant fashion with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Brittany Reedman of The College of New Jersey Monday afternoon. The match was a microcosm of the freshman's performance throughout the weekend, as she won every single set in her six matches en route to the title. This is the second ITA singles title won by a Brewer in three years, as senior Ava Sadeghi (Glendale, CA/Campbell Hall) claimed the 2012 championship her sophomore year.

"It was obviously a phenomenal tournament for Kate," said head coach Kathy Campbell. "She didn't drop a single set throughout the weekend, and did a job of staying mentally focused executing her game plan. [Brittany Reedman] had a very unique style of play that got her past some very good players, but Kate just stayed patient yet aggressive in her game and took opportunities when they presented themselves." 

Christensen began her run on Saturday with wins over Olivia Ammirati of New Paltz (6-2, 6-1) and William Smith's Hannah More (6-1, 6-0) in the opening rounds.  She knocked off Alison Wang (6-0, 6-4) in the third round on Sunday, before winning her closest match of the weekend over Elkie Vandenbeemt (7-5, 6-0) of St. Lawrence in the quarterfinals.     
         
Today, Christensen took down Kirsten Ackerman of The Sage Colleges in the morning semifinals 6-2, 6-0 to earn her spot in the championship. It didn't take long for the freshman to knock off Reedman in the finals, shutting out the TCNJ freshman in perhaps her most complete game all weekend.

"I just tried to play smart and stick to my game," said Christensen. "I didn't want to fall into her pattern of play, so I just played confident and hit the shots I needed to. "It's an awesome feeling though, I'm so glad I had the opportunity."

With her regional title, Christensen earns a bid to the USTA/ITA National Singles Championship for Division III, and also garners ITA All-American status.

In the doubles final, Sadeghi and fellow senior Samantha Schapiro (Milford, NJ/Rutgers Preparatory School) faced off with NYU's Laila El Dessouki and Carmen Lai in what was a very tightly contested championship. The pair dropped the first set 6-4, but rallied back to even the match in the second with a 6-3 victory. In the third and final set, El Dessouki and Lai hung on to get the win with a 6-3 victory, giving the senior duo a runner-up finish for the tournament.

"The doubles final was an exciting match, and NYU played very well," said Campbell. "I thought we played better as match went on, and we had a lot of momentum going into the third set. In the end we came up a little short, but I'm still proud of how we competed. We were on three of the five courts at the start of the final day, so that was pretty cool to see."   

Sophomore Emily Hallewell (Washington, DC/Stone Ridge Sch. Sacred Heart) ended her tournament weekend on a high note, defeating Brynn Sussman on SUNY-Oneonta in the consolation final 8-3. 

Overall the Brewers finished 15-3 in singles and 7-4 in doubles on the weekend. Vassar women's tennis will be back in action this coming Saturday, October 4 for a doubleheader of Liberty League dual-meet action. VC will face Union College at 10 am in Schenectady, NY, before returning to Poughkeepsie for a 4 pm match with Bard College on Joss Courts.