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D2 Women’s QF/SF Recap & Finals Preview

by | May 21, 2021 | Uncategorized

For the fourth season in a row Barry will play for the NCAA Division II Women’s Final while the Bucs opponent, top-ranked Indianapolis, is in the final for the first time in school history.

Barry has won the title in each of the last three seasons with a win over West Florida in 2018 and a pair over Lynn in 2017 and 2019.

UIndy’s path to the finals hasn’t been as smooth as Barry’s but the Greyhounds have managed to navigate each match to reach the final day of the season.

UIndy opened up play in Surprise, AZ, in the quarterfinals with a tough 4-2 win over No. 30 St. Mary’s TX. The Greyhounds picked up the doubles point with wins on 1 and 3 and then in singles they claimed four opening sets. The top three singles spots were the first to finish with UIndy’s Nikol Alekseeva and Alina Kislitskaya winning in straight sets at 1 and 3 while STMU’s Maria Garcia won in straight set at 2. Alice Thane pulled the Rattlers to within 3-2 with a 6-3, 7-6 win at No. 6 but Kristina Lagoda would get the clincher for UIndy with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win at No. 4. The match at No. 5 went unfinished with UIndy in the lead.

In the semifinals versus No. 10 Columbus State, UIndy maintained its perfect 23 for 23 mark in doubles play with wins at 1 and 2. Just as it had done in the quarterfinals, UIndy claimed four opening sets and its path to victory was also very similar as well. Nikol Alekseeva and Alina Kislitskaya won in straight sets at 1 and 3 for UIndy while Mariia Solnyshkina won in straight sets at 5. Columbus State Valentina Abrile won in straight sets at 4 to give the Cougars its lone point. The other two unfinished matches were close with CSU leading on 6 while UIndy held a slight lead on 2.

#1 UIndy 4, #10 Columbus State 1
5/20/2021 at Surprise, Ariz. (Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center)
Singles competition

  1. #1 Nikol Alekseeva (UINDY) def. #9 Beatriz Lopez (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
  2. #8 Anna Novikova (UINDY) vs. #36 Candice Paya (CSU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
  3. #14 Alina Kislitskaya (UINDY) def. Luise Sachs (CSU) 6-1, 6-2
  4. Valentina Abrile (CSU) def. #46 Kristina Lagoda (UINDY) 6-1, 6-1
  5. Mariia Solnyshkina (UINDY) def. Agostina Bigotti (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
  6. Sofia Sharonova (UINDY) vs. Yelena Labat (CSU) 6-7 (3-7), 2-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

  1. #1 Nikol Alekseeva/Anna Novikova (UINDY) def. Beatriz Lopez/Luise Sachs (CSU) 6-2
  2. #3 Alina Kislitskaya/Kristina Lagoda (UINDY) def. Valentina Abrile/Sara Concalves (CSU) 6-4
  3. Sofia Sharonova/Mariia Solnyshkina (UINDY) vs. Agostina Bigotti/Yelena Labat (CSU) 5-4, unfinished

Match Notes
Columbus State 18-6; National ranking #10
UIndy 23-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,5,1)
NCAA Division II Women’s Tennis Championship Semifinal

#1 UIndy 4, #30 St. Mary’s TX 2
5/19/2021 at Surprise, Ariz. (Surprise Racquet and Tennis Center)
Singles competition

  1. #1 Nikol Alekseeva (UINDY) def. #24 Ashley Penshorn (STMU) 6-3, 6-1
  2. #32 Maria Garcia (STMU) def. #8 Anna Novikova (UINDY) 6-2, 6-4
  3. #14 Alina Kislitskaya (UINDY) def. Marina Vigil (STMU) 6-2, 6-4
  4. #46 Kristina Lagoda (UINDY) def. Gabi Ioannou (STMU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
  5. Mariia Solnyshkina (UINDY) vs. Abigail Csengery (STMU) 6-4, 5-4, unfinished
  6. Alice Thane (STMU) def. Sofia Sharonova (UINDY) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)

Doubles competition

  1. #1 Nikol Alekseeva/Anna Novikova (UINDY) def. Ashley Penshorn/Maria Garcia (STMU) 6-3
  2. #3 Alina Kislitskaya/Kristina Lagoda (UINDY) vs. Marina Vigil/Alice Thane (STMU) 4-3, unfinished
  3. Sofia Sharonova/Mariia Solnyshkina (UINDY) def. Gabi Ioannou/Abigail Csengery (STMU) 6-1

Match Notes
St. Mary’s 17-6; National ranking #30
UIndy 22-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,2,3,6,4)
NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals

Second ranked Barry made its way to Friday’s final with a 4-1 win over #3 Central Oklahoma and a 4-0 win over #48 Franklin Pierce. The Buccaneers rolled through doubles against FPU and then only dropped 15 games in singles while winning all completed sets. Deniz Khazan, Jil Engelmann, and Madeline Bosnjak swept the top three spots with the trio only yielding 3 overall games.

In the semifinals against #3 UCO, the Bucs won a competitive doubles point with a 6-3 win on 1 and 2 while 3 went unfinished at 5-6. Barry won five of six opening sets in singles with Deniz Khazan, Xiyao Wang, and Daniela Farfan winning their sets at 1, 4, and 6 while UCO’s Mae Cenete won in straight sets at No. 2. Barry was ahead in the other two matches that went unfinished.

#2 Barry 4, #3 Central Oklahoma 1
05/20/2021 at Surprise, AZ (Surprise Tennis Center)
Singles competition

  1. #2 Deniz Khazan (BARRY-W) def. #5 Adel-ByanuAbidullina (UCO) 6-3, 6-1
  2. #7 Mae Canete (UCO) def. #20 Jil Engelmann (BARRY-W) 6-2, 6-3
  3. #26 Madeline Bosnjak (BARRY-W) vs. #33 Isabella Dunlap (UCO) 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
  4. Xiyao Wang (BARRY-W) def. Paola Landin (UCO) 6-2, 6-3
  5. Julie Razafindranaly (BARRY-W) vs. Blythe Buntrock (UCO) 6-1, 6-6 (4-3), unfinished
  6. Daniela Farfan (BARRY-W) def. Nikki Boyar (UCO) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles competition

  1. Madeline Bosnjak/Deniz Khazan (BARRY-W) def. Adel-ByanuAbidullina/Isabella Dunlap (UCO) 6-3
  2. Jil Engelmann/Julie Razafindranaly (BARRY-W) def. #13 Mae Canete/Paola Landin (UCO) 6-3
  3. Kim Moosbacher/Daniela Farfan (BARRY-W) vs. Blythe Buntrock/Nikki Boyar (UCO) 5-6, unfinished

Match Notes
Central Okla. 21-1; National ranking #3
Barry 13-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,4,2,1)
National Semifinals

#2 Barry 4, #48 Franklin Pierce 0
05/19/2021 at Surprise, AZ (Surprise Tennis Center)
Singles competition

  1. #2 Deniz Khazan (BARRY-W) def. Maria Penalver (FPU) 6-1, 6-0
  2. #20 Jil Engelmann (BARRY-W) def. Himani Mor (FPU) 6-2, 6-0
  3. #26 Madeline Bosnjak (BARRY-W) def. Liria Loria (FPU) 6-0, 6-0
  4. Xiyao Wang (BARRY-W) vs. Laura Alvarez (FPU) 6-0, 5-4, unfinished
  5. Julie Razafindranaly (BARRY-W) vs. Stella Carra (FPU) 6-1, 3-2, unfinished
  6. Mariia Skyba (BARRY-W) vs. Zoe Asterio Correa (FPU) 6-4, 2-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

  1. #10 Deniz Khazan/Madeline Bosnjak (BARRY-W) def. Liria Loria/Himani Mor (FPU) 6-0
  2. Jil Engelmann/Julie Razafindranaly (BARRY-W) def. Maria Penalver/Laura Alvarez (FPU) 6-3
  3. Kim Moosbacher/Daniela Farfan (BARRY-W) vs. Stella Carra/Zoe Asterio Correa (FPU) 5-2, unfinished

Match Notes
Franklin Pierce 14-1; National ranking #48
Barry 13-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (,1,3,2)
NCAA Quarterfinals

CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

[1] Indianapolis vs. [2] Barry (12:00 pm ET)

Road to the Final:
#1 UIndy def. Hillsdale 4-0 in R1; def. #12 SW Baptist 4-0 in R2; def. #30 St. Mary’s TX 4-2 in QF; def. #10 Columbus St 4-1 in SF
#2 Barry def. #8 St. Leo 4-0; def. #7 West Florida 4-0; def. #48 Franklin Pierce 4-0 in QF; def. #3 Central Oklahoma 4-1 in SF

Match Notes

  • Barry is into the Final for the 4th straight season (won previous 3) – 8th overall (won 5; lost 2)
  • Indianapolis in into the Final for the first-time ever
  • Singles Matchups (UIndy/Barry)
    • Nikol Alekseeva is undefeated and has only lost 3 sets/Deniz Khazan is undefeated and only lost 2 sets
    • Anna Novikova’s only loss came vs. St. Mary’s in QF – has dropped 3 of last 4 sets/Jil Engelmann is coming off a 2&3 loss vs. Central Oklahoma – had only lost once and dropped 3 sets prior
    • Alina Kislitskaya is undefeated and has only lost 1 set/Madeline Bosnjak is undefeated and hasn’t lost a set
    • Kristinia Lagoda is coming off a 1&1 loss to Columbus St – had only dropped 4 sets prior/Xiyao Wang is undefeated and hasn’t lost a set
    • Mariia Solnyshkina has won 10 straight/Julie Razafindranaly is undefeated and only lost 3 sets
    • Sofia Sharnova lost 3&6 to St. Mary’s & trailed vs. Columbus State/Daniela Farfan is undefeated and hasn’t lost a set

Prediction: Barry has been beyond dominant this season with the Bucs posting shutouts in 10 of its 14 wins. Barry’s starting six singles players have only dropped a combined 10 sets all season so it’s going to be a tough road for UIndy especially if they drop the doubles point for the first time all season – Barry 4-1

Live scoring for the final is available here and the NCAA will have a live broadcast at this link.