TICKET PUNCHED! STAC Women's Tennis Secures Third Straight Trip to NCAA Finals with 4-0 Triumph over New Haven

Posted: May 13, 2025

West Haven, Conn. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Tennis team punched its ticket to Florida and the program's third straight trip to the NCAA Division II Championship Finals on Tuesday, courtesy of a 4-0 shutout victory over the University of New Haven in the East Regional Tournament held at the New Haven Tennis Courts in Connecticut.

The win moves the Spartans to 15-5 on the season, and is the team's eighth triumph in their last ten matches. Meanwhile, the Chargers close their 2024-2025 campaign at 15-2.

STAC now awaits the seedings for the upcoming NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Finals, which will take place May 21-25 in Altmonte Springs, Florida at Sanlando Park. Rollins College and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission will serve as hosts.

The Spartans opened doubles action with a victory at the No. 3 position, as the team of Mar Caneves Bufi & Elise Semmartin defeated Augustina Ravera, 6-4. Then the duo of Courtney Fyvie & Elita Silins scored a 6-2 triumph over Karim Carreras & Valentinna Ferrarini at the No. 1 spot to take the first team point from New Haven.

When singles play commenced, STAC made quick work of the Chargers, sweeping the first three individual competitions to pick up the overall victory and move on to Florida. Elita Silins dispatched her opponent, Karim Carreras via a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2. Next, Mar Caneves Bufi battled Laura Ortner, but ultimately took a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 5. Finally, Kateryna Kryuchkova closed things out with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph against Risako Umekuni at No. 3 to officially end the match.

STAC 4/NEW HAVEN 0 - OFFICIAL RESULTS

DOUBLES

1. Courtney Fyvie & Elita Silins (STAC) def. Karim Carreras & Valentinna Ferrarini (UNH), 6-2
2. Victoria Togores & Risako Umekuni (UNH) def. Sun Zhuoxuan & Kateryna Kryuchkova (STAC), 6-1

3. Mar Caneves Bufi & Elise Semmartin (STAC) def. Augustina Ravera & Laura Ortner (UNH), 6-4

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*

SINGLES

1. Courtney Fyvie (STAC) vs. Valentinna Ferrarini (UNH) 6-2, 5-7, 0-0 (UNFINISHED)

2. Elita Silins (STAC) def. Karim Carreras (UNH) 6-4, 6-3

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

4. Victoria Togores (UNH) vs. Elise Semmartin (STAC) 6-4, 4-3 (UNFINISHED)

5. Mar Caneves Bufi (STAC) def. Laura Ortner (UNH) 6-3, 6-2

6. Augustina Ravera (UNH) vs. Sun Zhuoxuan (STAC) 6-3, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (UNFINISHED)

Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3*

#1 New Haven Record: 15-2, 8-0 NE10 (#28 ITA)

#4 STAC Record: 15-5, 4-1 ECC (#35 ITA)

THE ROCKHILL REPORT

"We have a lot of respect for the season New Haven had," stated Head Coach Dan Rockhill. "They were conference champions, suffered only one prior loss on the year and represented our region at the ITA cup with several players. They were clearly the class of the region and will be missed as they step up to D1 next year."

"The doubles point was crucial today and gave us a lot of momentum going into the singles matches," said Rockhill. "I think we benefitted from playing Adelphi the day before as we were very comfortable. I am proud of the way in which the ladies handled the moment. Courtney and Elita are perhaps the best pair in the region currently. They are skilled and comfortable at the net and play with a lot of confidence. I am happy for Elise and Mar who battled two hard hitting opponents. They were able to make a small adjustment during the set, which broke their opponent's rhythm, and led to a four-game run to win the set from 4-2 down. Kat and Elita competed well today. Both lost their matches to New Haven two weeks ago but were able to battle their way to positive results on the big stage today. Mar continued her fantastic spring and has become very tough at #5."

"I am so blessed to be the coach of this team," commented Rockhill. "We are all excited to have earned the opportunity to return to the final 16 in Orlando."

UP NEXT

STAC begins preparations for the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship Finals and will receive word of their opponent this week.