Women's Tennis' Historic Season Concludes At NCAA Division II Sweet 16

Posted: May 12, 2023

Orlando, Fla. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Tennis team's history-making 2022-2023 Season, came to a conclusion on Friday afternoon, as the #14 seeded Spartans fell to the #3 seed Hawaii Pacific University, 4-0, in the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 round at the USTA National Campus (Collegiate Center).

STAC ends their campaign with an 18-4 overall record and a 5-0 mark in the East Coast Conference. Meanwhile, Hawaii Pacific improves to 15-7 and moves on to the Elite Eight round of the tournament.

The Spartans historic season included ECC Regular Season and Tournament titles, the program's first-ever East Regional victory and an inaugural appearance in the NCAA Championship rounds.

HAWAII PACIFIC 4/ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 0 - OFFICIAL RESULTS

DOUBLES

1. Shaline Pipa & Marleen Tilgner (HPU) def. Ebba Rosberg & Samanta Villegas Robles (STAC), 6-1

2. Elodie Busson & Abigail Wild (HPU) def. Elita Silins & Jemima Parkinson (STAC), 6-1

3. Nicole Ballach & Mihoki Miyahara (HPU) vs. Amaia Balaguer Brau & Paula Palero (STAC), 3-3 UNFINISHED

SINGLES

1. Shaline Pipa (HPU) vs. Ebba Rosberg (STAC) 6-2, 5-4 UNFINISHED

2. Elodie Busson (HPU) def. Viktoriia Pavlovets (STAC) 6-2, 6-3

3. Marleen Tilgner (HPU) def. Amaia Balaguer Brau (STAC) 6-2, 6-3

4. Abigail Wild (HPU) def. Samanta Villegas Robles (STAC) 6-2, 6-1

5. Nicole Ballach (HPU) vs. Elita Silins (STAC) 7-5, 3-1 UNFINISHED

6. Rikona Murakami (HPU) vs. Eliza Mulder (STAC) 2-6, 3-3 UNFINISHED

HPU Record: 15-7

STAC Record: 18-4, 5-0 ECC

THE ROCKHILL REPORT

"We came to Orlando to battle and I am proud of the team for the way they competed", said Head Coach Dan Rockhill. "HPU was just too tough in this one. They are playing very well now and are one of the best teams in the country."

"It was enjoyable to watch our players compete with their strongest opponents to date. This was a wonderful learning experience for us and I hope the team now believes that the gap between them and some of the top teams isn't so wide. Hopefully, this is just the beginning for STAC tennis. With a few tweaks, we hope to earn more consistent opportunities to play the elite teams in the country going forward."

"I am happy for Eliza as she made some difficult decisions that put her in position to have a memorable experience on court and with her team and family", stated Rockhill. "She performed at a high level today and ended her career admirably."

"It has been a terrific year and I am excited to keep building something special alongside the finest staff imaginable", remarked Rockhill. "We return many key starters next year and have a tremendous class joining us this fall. "This continues to be so much fun and a true labor of love."