Women's Tennis To Compete At NEAC West Tennis Tournament

2015 NEAC West Division Tennis Tournament

TEAM TOURNAMENT
Semifinals - Friday, Apr. 24
Penn St.-Abington vs. Keuka - 6 p.m.
Penn St.-Berks vs. Wells - 6 p.m.

Championship - Saturday, Apr. 25
No. 1/4 Seed vs. No. 2/3 Seed - 10 a.m.

INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT
Doubles Tournament - Saturday, Apr. 25 - 2 p.m.
Individual Tournament - Sunday, Apr. 26 - 9 a.m.

DIRECTIONS: Birchwood Tennis Club - Clarks Summit, Pa.

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The Wells College women's tennis team has qualified for the North Eastern Athletic Conference West Division Tournament for the fourth-straight season and will compete as a team this Friday, Apr. 24 against the No. 2-seeded Nittany Lions from Penn St.-Berks at 6 p.m. at the Birchwood Tennis Club in Clarks Summit, Pa.

Wells, entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed after posting a 5-2 conference record, will play the second-seeded Nittany Lions for the fourth time in the team's postseason history. The winner of the Penn St.-Berks/Wells matchup will face-off against the winner of the Penn St.-Abington/Keuka semifinal match on Saturday, Apr. 25 at 10 a.m.

From there, the NEAC West Division Championship winner will battle the NEAC East Division Champions from Colby-Sawyer College on Sunday, May 3 at 1 p.m. to determine the conference's representative at the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Tournament.

Wells earned the College's first-ever NCAA tournament berth following the 2007 season. Dating back to the very first NEAC postseason in 2007, Wells has missed the playoffs only once (2010-11) and will look to secure their first team championship in the sport of women's tennis. The Express won four-straight Private College Athletic Conference champions from 1977-80 and has finished as the NEAC runner-up team on three separate occasions (2007, 2012, 2013).

The Express will also have representation in the Individual Tournament that begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Junior Brooke Benedetto (Williamstown, N.Y.) earned the top seed at No. 2 singles with a 6-1 record against NEAC opponents this spring while freshman Kamarie Maturine (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished as the conference's top performer at No. 3 singles, sporting a 6-1 record against league foes.

Senior Taryn Heath (Truxton, N.Y.) is ranked second out of four entries at No. 1 singles and freshman Danielle Bautista (Moorpark, Calif.) enters individual play ranked third at No. 4 singles. Sophomore Nicole Sanborn (Onondaga, N.Y.) is ranked third at No. 5 singles while freshman Kate Wells (Gardner, Mass.) is ranked second at No. 6 singles.

Heath and Benedetto are seeded second at No. 1 doubles entering this weekend's tournament as Bautista and Sanborn were slotted third at No. 2 doubles. Maturine and Wells posted a 3-3 record at No. 3 doubles, earning the fourth seed to round out the field for the Express. Individual NEAC champions in singles and doubles play are determined in miniature tournaments with head-to-head matches. All-Conference merits are secured with first, second or third place finishes at each flight.

Wells recently concluded their 40th season as a varsity program with a 6-8 overall record. Since the 2011-12 season, the Express has posted a 21-5 record in the regular season against conference opponents. Additionally, Wells posted a 34-8 (.810) NEAC record at singles play while turning in a 14-7 mark (.667) in conference doubles matches.