Sophomore Cori Lefkowith won tournament MOP. Sarah Gatzke
Senior Erin Katims has won four championships at BU. Sarah GatzkeIt doesn’t get much easier than this for the Boston University women’s team.
For an unprecedented 14th year in a row, the Terriers cruised to the 14th straight America East title and 18th in 19 years with a 4-0 sweep of No. 3 University of Maryland-Baltimore County yesterday at the Connecticut Tennis Center after sweeping No. 4 Stony Brook University the previous day.
“I think, overall, this team played a lot stronger in the tournament than in past years, and I think that that was a positive thing,” said BU coach Lesley Sheehan. “You know, we’ve won it every year, but I can’t say that every year has been easy.”
Sophomore Cori Lefkowith earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer honors after winning the fifth singles position in straight sets in the title match. The America East coaches also acknowledged her dominating 15-1 record this spring.
“She really stood out the whole season,” Sheehan said. “Everyone played the tournament pretty well, but she just stood out a little bit more because of her record on the year. I didn’t think it was based strictly on the tournament. It was very clear that she had an amazing year, really helped the team, and I think she really deserved it.”
BU got off to a good start in the title match, grabbing the doubles point with wins at the first and third slots. Senior Erin Katims and freshman Francine Whu blanked junior Pascaline Cette and freshman Alice Chen, 8-0, and freshman Rebecca Row and sophomore Yana Sadovskaya beat sophomores Cornelia Carapcea and Joy Adewumi, 8-4. BU’s second doubles team of sophomore Katie Draganova and freshman Liz Corrao were leading their match, 6-3, but play was suspended because BU had already earned the point.
“Our doubles came off pretty quick,” Sheehan said. “We knew that we were coming on strong [in singles].”
The Terriers won in straight sets in all three singles victories. Whu beat Carapcea in the fourth slot, 6-1, 6-2; Lefkowith notched a 6-3, 6-0, win over senior Adriana Fonseca in the fifth slot and Corrao defeated freshman Barbara Couto, 6-1, 6-1. Katims and Sadovskaya, in the first and second spots, respectively, were leading their matches but didn’t finish because the Terriers had already won.
This was the second time this spring that BU played UMBC, and both result in BU shutting out the Retrievers.
“It was great that we got a chance to play UMBC this year,” Sheehan said. “They got a chance to see our team, but we got a chance to see their team. So we kind of knew what to expect.”
In the first round, UMBC defeated a Binghamton University team, 4-2, that failed to advance to the title match for the first time in three years.
“I was happy that UMBC won because it was good and fresh to play a different team in the finals,” Sheehan said.
BU took care of business against Stony Brook in the semifinals Saturday en route to the finals. Katims and Whu beat sophomore Erica Federgreen and freshman Paola Radolfi, 8-4, and Row and Sadovskaya shutout junior Victoria Vovsha and freshman Caitlin Crowley, 8-0.
In singles play, Sadovskaya defeated freshman Claudia Sanua 6-2, 6-3, in the second slot, and Row beat Federgreen 6-1, 6-0, at No. 4 singles. Sophomore Danielle Abraham, playing a singles match for the first time since March 25 at Florida Atlantic, earned a 6-1, 6-0, win over freshman Shaina Murugan at No. 6 singles. BU earned four points before Katims, Whu and Lefkowith, all of whom were leading, could finish their matches.
Later this week the Terriers will find out where they’ll play their first match of the NCAA Championships. Until then, Sheehan and her team will cherish Number 14.
“Every [title] is special because every year I have a new team, and every year you can see the players get excited and the new freshmen coming in,” she said. “Right now we have a little tradition going of winning it, and it’s exciting because of that.”
