Cavaliers’ Remarkable Run Halted by Top-Ranked Grizzlies

Cavaliers’ Remarkable Run Halted by Top-Ranked Grizzlies
May 24, 2022

MOBILE, Ala.— The best season in Montreat women's tennis program history drew to a close on Friday afternoon at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. Making its first-ever semifinal appearance at the 41st annual NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship, the fifth-seeded Cavaliers couldn't quite keep the magic alive as they fell to the top-seeded and five-time reigning national champions, the Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies, by a 4-0 scoreline. With the semifinal defeat, Montreat ended the 2022 season at 17-6 overall.
 
Battling against a pair of highly-ranked doubles tandems, the Cavaliers held an early 1-0 edge on two of the three doubles courts; however, Georgia Gwinnett managed to break serve on a few occasions, and it ultimately made the difference as the Grizzlies won 6-2 and 6-3 at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, to claim the coveted doubles point. Stephanie Petit and Carol Reis led the NAIA's top-ranked doubles pairing, 4-3, when Georgia Gwinnett put the first team point on the board.
 
Georgia Gwinnett (16-0) entered the day having shut out every NAIA foe it faced this season. Despite the Cavaliers' best efforts, the Grizzlies continued that trend as they claimed straight-sets victories on the third, fourth and fifth courts. At No. 4, the NAIA's fifth-ranked singles player took a 6-2, 6-4 decision to double the GGC advantage. Then, in the third spot, the No. 7-ranked singles athlete in the NAIA battled her way to a 6-1, 7-5 triumph to move the Grizzlies within a team point of the national championship match.
 
While the Cavaliers were kept off the scoreboard, Petit and Valerie Quiceno Ibarguen held leads over top-5 individuals when play concluded. In a battle of the top two singles players in the NAIA, Petit snatched a 7-6 (7-3) first-set win over No. 1 Maria Genovese. Meanwhile, Quiceno Ibarguen utilized a near-identical first-set score of 7-6 (7-4) to lead No. 4 Selina Pichler.
 
The Grizzlies clinched their berth to the national championship match with a victory on the No. 5 court. GGC's fifth and final ranked singles player, who entered the day No. 23 in the NAIA, needed just two sets (6-4, 6-2) to close out the match and shut the door on Montreat's spectacular 2022 campaign.
 
Montreat women's tennis concluded the year with a 17-6 overall record and a perfect 8-0 record in AAC action.
 
The 17 overall wins and eight AAC victories in 2022 are the most in a single season in Montreat women's tennis history. The Cavaliers not only grabbed their first-ever NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship victory by defeating No. 12 University of the Cumberlands in the second round, but they also toppled No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan University to make their first national semifinal appearance. Montreat claimed its initial regular season Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) title back in April, and it also seized its second consecutive AAC Tournament crown. The Cavs won 14 consecutive matches throughout the regular season and into the postseason, the longest such streak in team history.
 
No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett College 4, No. 5 Montreat College 0
Doubles:

  1. Stephanie Petit/Carol Reis (MONT) vs. #1 Maria Genovese/Stephanie Fernandez (GGC) 4-3, unf.
  2. #5 Selina Pichler/Iryna Lysykh (GGC) def. Vaishnavi Venkatesh/Mariam Bayatyan (MONT) 6-2
  3. Alejandra Ferrer Rodriguez/Liza Velykorodna (GGC) def. Valerie Quiceno Ibarguen/Nicole Bueno 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 3

Singles:

  1. #2 Stephanie Petit (MONT) vs. #1 Maria Genovese (GGC) 7-6 (7-3), 2-2
  2. #12 Valerie Quiceno Ibarguen (MONT) vs. #4 Selina Pichler (GGC) 7-6 (7-4), 1-1
  3. #7 Alejandra Ferrer Rodriguez (GGC) def. Vaishnavi Venkatesh (MONT) 6-1, 7-5
  4. #5 Iryna Lysykh (GGC) def. Carol Reis (MONT) 6-2, 6-4
  5. #23 Liza Velykorodna (GGC) def. Nicole Bueno (MONT) 6-4, 6-2
  6. Stephanie Fernandez (GGC) vs. Mariam Bayatyan (MONT) 7-5, 5-5

Order of Finish: 4, 3, 5

(Story provided by Montreat sports information)