New Haven, Conn. – It was an historic season in the fall of 2015 for the Albertus Magnus College women's tennis team. The Falcons ended the year with a program-best 8-6 overall record and qualified for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament as the No. 5 seed thanks to a 2-4 mark in league matches.
The eight wins were a new program record and the post-season berth in the conference tournament was the second in school history. Down the stretch, Albertus won their final two regular season matches. This year also marked just the second time in program history that the team finished with a winning percentage higher than .500. In fact, their .571 winning percentage was the best in school history. Albertus Magnus recorded two wins in GNAC play, which tied a program high achieved in 1997 and 1998.
"The women's team had a super season this autumn," Albertus Magnus Head Coach Bob Migliorini said. "It was a record-setting year, but also one in which the ladies really bonded as a true team and had a lot of fun together."
Following the campaign, freshman Izzy Sabino (Cheshire, Conn.) represented the Falcons on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Sabino tied for the team-lead with nine singles victories after competing all autumn at No. 3. She posted a 2-4 mark in conference action and a perfect 7-0 mark in non-conference tilts.
Albertus Magnus opened the season win a resounding 6-3 road win in non-conference play against in-state rival Mitchell. In the match, AMC won two of three doubles matches and then took the first four singles matches to secure the victory. Junior Zaida Velazco (Dominican Republic) and freshman Alicia Weaver (Bethel, Conn.) won at the top doubles spot, 8-3, while the tandem of Sabino and sophomore Kelsea Wildman (Hamden, Conn.) teamed together for an 8-2 triumph at No. 2. The quartet of Falcons also accounted for all four of the squads points on the singles side as well.
After back-to-back home losses, the team rebounded with a 6-3 win in front of their home crowd against City College of New York on September 23rd. Once again, the Falcons took two of three doubles matches and the top-four singles matches in straight sets to earn the victory. The victory against the Beavers, started a four-match winning streak for Albertus Magnus, as the team went on to score road triumphs against Vaughn, Bay Path and St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) in non-conference play.
Following a conference setback at in-state rival St. Joseph (Conn.), Albertus Magnus defeated visiting Mount Ida, 7-2, to earn its first GNAC win of the fall on October 7. The Mustangs were short a player, only traveling with five, so Albertus scored wins at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles by default. In doubles action, the two squads split with the visitors winning at No. 1 and the Falcons taking the match at No. 2. The AMC duo of Wildman and Sabino continued the hot start to their season, cruising to an 8-0 victory to secure their sixth win in a row.
The Falcons ended the regular season with two straight road wins, defeating Anna Maria, 6-3, in conference play before blanking New Rochelle, 9-0, in the season finale.
In doubles play, the tandem of Sabino and Wildman partnered for a team-leading nine wins, highlighted by a six-match winning streak in the middle of the year, after competing at No. 2 all season. The duo also had a team-best three wins in conference action. Weaver and Velazco teamed for six wins at No. 1 doubles during the year.
Velazco and Sabino tied for the team-lead with nine singles victories apiece competing at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Both student-athletes posted a 2-4 record in GNAC play and a perfect 7-0 mark in non-conference tilts. Earlier in the season, Velazco was named the GNAC Corvais Women's Tennis Player of the Week. Weaver had a strong freshman campaign in singles action competing at No. 2, registering seven wins, two of which came in league play. At No. 4, Wildman finished with eight wins thanks to an impressive 6-1 record in out of league matches.
For the latest information on the women's tennis team and Albertus Magnus athletics, follow AMCAthletics on Twitter and visit AlbertusFalcons.com.
