After a year’s pause, Quinnipiac women’s tennis is back on top of the MAAC after beating Fairfield 4-3, and heads to the NCAA Tournament to face the No. 2 Texas A&M.
Sounds familiar?
It’s a repeat of its 2023 season.
Well, almost — this year the Stags gave the Bobcats more of a fight.
Quinnipiac entered the MAAC Tournament as a No. 1 seed and cruised past the No. 5 Siena in the second round 4-0.
Playing Fairfield wasn’t that easy, though.
The No. 2 Stags came off a 4-3 win over No. 3 Niagara, after being down 0-3. They clearly took that energy into the finals with them, as the Bobcats quickly found themselves down 1-3, after losing the doubles point and sophomore Caitlin Flower and graduate student Jordan Bradley lost their games, while the solo point came from sophomore Caroline Shulson winning her game quickly 6-1, 6-1.
“I still felt like we were gonna win,” head coach Paula Miller said. “I never felt down, I had fate in the team to come back. Fairfield played a great semifinals match, I didn’t think we were gonna play them and then we did.”
And then the Bobcats proved why they indeed belong at the top of the MAAC. Junior Vera Sekerina, sophomore Anagha Shankar and freshman Willow Renton all turned their matches around, with Renton clinching her three-setter to give Quinnipiac the win.
“I also wanted revenge for last year,” Miller said. “We are a young team and I’m glad they handled the pressure well.”
And then the selection day came, Monday, April 28. The Bobcats all sat down, patiently waiting for the grand reveal — except it wasn’t that grand as they were the second to last team announced, and are once again heading down to College Station, Texas, to face Texas A&M.
Miller, however, remains relatively unfazed.
“It’s great playing top program in the country, you have nothing to lose,” Miller said. “Our goal is to try to get a set. We’ve been 13 times in the NCAA, so I think our name is out there already, but it’s hard to get a point, but we’ve been close to winning couple matches in doubles, and I hope we can come out and turn couple heads like, ‘Oh, they can compete with us.’”
Last time these two teams faced off, Quinnipiac lost 0-4, barely managing to win a game per match.
This year, however, the team is entirely new, only Sekerina and Bradley remain from the team two years ago. Yet, these new Bobcats are not afraid of the Aggies.
“I am so excited to go to Texas it will be so much fun,” Renton said. “I love our team, no pressure at all, we’ll just play with all our heart.”
And Miller echoes that sentiment.
“No pressure, go out and play,” is the message the head coach has for her team. “Be ready for the heat, it was really hot. You’re playing the top girls in the country, just go out and have fun and try your best.”
The rematch is set for Friday, May 2 at 2 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
