WEST WINDSOR, NJ (Apr. 21, 2024) – No. 1 Fairfield University capped off its perfect league season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over rival, No. 2 Quinnipiac University, on Sunday afternoon in the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Tennis Championship title match at Mercer County Park Tennis Center in West Windsor, New Jersey. The top-seeded Stags secured their MAAC-leading 11^th overall championship trophy, the program’s first since 2019.
 
No. 1 Fairfield - 4 | No. 2 Quinnipiac - 3
Mercer County Park Tennis Center | WEST WINDSOR, NJ
Score Sheet
 
Right out of the gate there were fireworks in the championship, with the doubles point coming down to the wire. Quinnipiac snagged the first match at #3, with Anagha Shankar and Nikole Lisovyy topping Laina Campos and Nicolette Loeffler (6-3). Fairfield took #2 doubles, earned by the pair of Francesca Karman and Lily Malinowski, winning 6-4 over Caroline Schulson and Caitlin Flower. The doubles point would be decided at the number one position, and it would end up being the Bobcat’s Vera Sekerina and Dominique Yeo edging Sarah Liu and Maeve Cassidy (6-4), to give Quinnipiac a 1-0 lead as the final moved to singles. The Bobcats extended their lead to two with a win at #4 singles by Caitlin Flower defeating Francesca Karman (6-1, 6-2). Trailing 2-0, Fairfield would rally to take the next three straight matches and a 3-2 lead. The run began with a victory at #3 singles, when Loeffler topped Schulson (6-4, 6-3). At #2, Katarina Plumtree was victorious over Sekerina (6-3, 6-4), knotting the match at 2-2. The Stags would break the tie and overtake the lead with Cassidy knocking off Lisovyy (6-3, 2-6, 6-2) at the #6 spot. With a pair of matches left, Quinnipiac would keep its title hopes alive, winning #5 singles by way of Yeo beating Malinowski by a score line of 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-1. The deciding match would come at number one, where Fairfield’s Liu outlasted Quinnipiac’s Shankar (3-6, 6-2, 6-4) in comeback fashion to clinch the championship title match for the Stags.
 
Fairfield improves to 12-8 (6-0 MAAC) on the season and finished a perfect 8-0 against league foes in 2024 following the two postseason wins. The win also avenged back-to-back championship losses for Fairfield against Quinnipiac, having dropped the title matches in 2022 and 2023 the previous two seasons.
 
Cassidy earned 2024 Most Outstanding Performer honors after a perfect 2-0 record in #6 singles action during the tournament.
 
Fairfield will earn the MAAC automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship. The Stags will find out their opponent and match time on Monday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. during the Division I Women’s Tennis Selection Show on NCAA.com.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
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