Rosario SUNYAC Champ; Hawks Finish Second at Conference Final

EAST MANLIUS, NY — Senior Amanda Rosario (Bronx, NY) captured the conference championship at number six singles and the SUNY New Paltz women’s tennis team finished second among a field of nine at the 2004 SUNYAC Championship at the Eastside Racquet Club in East Manlius, New York.

Rosario, the top-seeded player in the draw, shook off a loss in the first set to Lauren Eichenauer of Geneseo to prevail 4-6, 7-6, 6-0. It was the first conference title for Rosario who was one of six finalists for the Hawks on the third and final day of the tournament.

The day began with SUNY Cortland and SUNY New Paltz battling in five of the nine finals matches to determine the conference champion. The Red Dragons, who won last year’s title, and defeated the Hawks 6-3 in September, maintained their advantage over SUNY New Paltz with victories in all five matches. At number three singles, Andrea TerBush defeated freshman Alexandra Goldberg (Scarsdale, NY) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

After losing the first set 6-0 to Cortland’s Meredith McCaslin in the fifth singles championship, sophomore Jen Larson (Port Jervis, NY) won the second set 6-4, but then fell 6-3 in the final set.

In doubles play, Cortland’s Laurie Dorscheid and Amanda Husson defeated senior Kerry Farrell (Rockville Center, NY) and freshman Eri Yamakawa (Eastchester, NY) 6-1, 6-2 in the first flight.

At number two doubles, McCaslin and TerBush brought home another conference title for Cortland with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Goldberg and Larson.

In the third doubles championship, junior Sara Goldstein (Merrick, NY) and junior Laura Thomas (Hyde Park, NY) were defeated 6-4, 6-1 by Ashley Abar and Jen Hemedinger of Cortland.

SUNY Cortland finished with 32 points to repeat as league champions. SUNY New Paltz, who was second to Cortland a year ago, secured the runner-up position with 23 points. Geneseo was third with 22 points and Oneonta finished fourth with 13.

For the second time in the last three years, SUNY New Paltz Head Coach Rob Bruley was named the conference’s Coach of the Year. In addition to directing the Hawks to a third consecutive, top-two finish at the SUNYAC Championship, his squad went 7-2 this fall and will play in next week’s New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association Championship for the second straight year.

Final Team Scores: 1) SUNY Cortland 32, 2) SUNY New Paltz 23, 3) Geneseo 22, 4) Oneonta 13, 5) Plattsburgh 8, 6) Tie between Brockport and Fredoinia with 4, 8) Potsdam 2, 9) Oswego 0.