Weston, Mass.—The Regis College women’s tennis team competed in the first annual Pride Tennis Invitational this past Saturday (Apr. 30). The Pride was able to experience, great weather, psyched players, and excellent tennis.  The Pride was host to three other academic intuitions with Johnson and Wales University, Lesley University and Worcester State College, placing competitors in the event.   The Wildcats were the overall winner of the event, with the Pride and Lancers, taking second place honors.

The Pride’s head coach John Ciarleglio was excited with the success of the event. “One of my goals for this year was to get the women’s spring season going and one of the key elements was to hold a women’s invitational with as many other schools as possible” stated coach Ciarleglio.  “Our players worked hard to prepare for the tournament, starting indoor practices three days a week from mid-February and then going to five days after spring break. Their effort definitely showed in the results on Saturday”.

The Pride had six players compete in the invitational. Mary Jane Barron (Whitinsville, Mass./Holy Name), Maryse Emungu (South Burlington, Vt./Rice Memorial), Ally Kuchera (Waltham, Mass./Waltham), Morgan Mitchell (Ashburnham, Mass./Oakmont Regional), Teanna Montoya (Oak Bluffs, Mass./Martha's Vineyard Regional), and Caroline Roche (Hanover, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) played with focus and determination throughout the day.

 In doubles play, Barron and Kuchera finished second in the B flight behind the Wildcats Laura Schwenk and Joanna Kaskiw.  In flight C, the Wildcats Tammy Saunders and Vicky Ricciardi bested the Pride duo of Mitchell and Roche.  Emungu and Montoya were the second team for the Pride finishing third in the meet.

The Wildcats took both the top and bottom sections of singles flight A.  Schwenk and Andrea Gampel out dueled the Lancers in single sets. Schwenk defeated the Lancers Ashley Perkins, while Gampel took down Courtney Blaise.   In the singles B flight the Pride’s Barron won the top section over the Wildcats Saunders. The bottom section was won by the Wildcats Ansley Sego, who prevailed over the Lancers Mariah Tangney.  The C Flight was tightly contested with the Pride’s Emungu finishing second to the Wildcats Ricciardi.

Coach Ciarleglio was pleased to speak on how the event commenced. “The tournament was a great start to our two season expansion of the women’s tennis program at Regis College.” The Pride will be hosting the second annual women’s tennis Pride Invitational next spring. Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete and practice on spring break. The Pride will travel to Hilton Head, South Carolina for next year’s training activities.