#43 STAC Falls to #38 New Haven on Senior Day, 4-3

Posted: Apr 28, 2025

Sparkill, N.Y. - In battle of ITA-ranked, East Region Women's Tennis contenders, #43 St. Thomas Aquinas College closed regular season play on Monday afternoon with a 4-3 setback to #38 University of New Haven at the Riley Family Tennis Courts.

STAC slips to 13-5 overall on the year, while New Haven improves to 15-1. Both squads now await the seedings in the upcoming NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship, which gets underway with regional play on May 12-13 at selected campus sites.

Prior to the match, STAC honored Courtney Fyvie, Elise Semmartin and Elita Silins with on-court ceremonies, which included their teammates, coaches and the college's athletic department administration.

The Spartans opened the day, losing two out of three doubles matches, as the Chargers No. 2 team of Victoria Togores & Risako Umekuni defeated Kateryna Kryuchkova & Sun Zhuoxuan, 6-1, followed by the Spartans No. 1 pair of Elita Silins & Courtney Fyvie besting Valentinna Ferrarini & Karim Carreras, 6-4 to even the score. The duo of Laura Ortner & Augustina Ravera downed Mar Caneves Bufi & Elise Semmartin, 7-5 at No. 3 to take the all-important first point.

Once the squads turned to singles competition, New Haven went up 2-0 with No. 2 Karim Carreras defeating Elita Silins 7-5, 6-1. However, No. 4 Elise Semmartin triumphed over Victoria Togores in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 to end the maroon and gold shutout on the scoreboard. No. 3 Risako Umekuni then defeated Kateryna Kryuchkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to put the Chargers on the brink of victory at 3-1. Fortunately, No. 1 Courtney Fyvie took care of business against Valentinna Ferrarini 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 to narrow the deficit to 3-2, before No. 5 Mar Caneves Bufi knotted the match at 3-3 with her 6-1, 6-2 victory over Laura Ortner. One final battle remained between the sides, as No. 6 Augustina Ravera took on Ombeline Robilliart with a team "W" hanging in the balance. Ravera secured that win for New Haven with a 6-0, 6-2 performance to end the day's festivities.

NEW HAVEN 4/STAC 3 - OFFICIAL RESULTS

DOUBLES

1. Courtney Fyvie & Elita Silins (STAC) def. Valentinna Ferrarini & Karim Carreras (UNH), 6-4

2. Victoria Togores & Risako Umekuni (UNH) def. Kateryna Kryuchkova & Sun Zhuoxuan (STAC), 6-1

3. Laura Ortner & Augustina Ravera (UNH) def. Mar Caneves Bufi & Elise Semmartin (STAC), 7-5

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*

SINGLES

1. Courtney Fyvie (STAC) def. Valentinna Ferrarini (UNH) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5

2. Karim Carreras (UNH) def. Elita Silins (STAC) 7-5, 6-1

3. Risako Umekuni (UNH) def. Kateryna Kryuchkova (STAC) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

4. Elise Semmartin (STAC) def. Victoria Togores (UNH) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0

5. Mar Caneves Bufi (STAC) def. Laura Ortner (UNH) 6-1, 6-2

6. Augustina Ravera (UNH) def. Ombeline Robilliart (STAC) 6-0, 6-2

Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6*

New Haven Record: 15-1, 8-0 NE10 - #1 NCAA D2 EAST, #38 ITA NATIONAL

STAC Record: 13-5, 4-1 ECC - #4 NCAA D2 EAST, #43 ITA NATIONAL

ROCKHILL REPORT

"We probably left a few points out there on the courts today but New Haven is a very strong team and is having an amazing season", stated Head Coach Dan Rockhill.

"Courtney, who just might be playing her best tennis of her career, was tremendous," said Rockhill. "Even though under the weather, she battled back from 4-0 down in the final set to win. Elise also demonstrated solid endurance winning 6-0 in the final set. Mar continued her growth, posting a solid win over a tough opponent. Unfortunately, we were not able to secure the fourth point we needed to get the win."

"We will continue to fight and grind as we prepare for the NCAA tournament," commented Rockhill. "The five qualifying teams are very close so why not us winning the regional?"