New Haven, Conn. – It was another successful fall season on the courts for the women's tennis team in 2016, as the Falcons finished the year with a 5-7 overall record and qualified as the No. 5 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament thanks to a 2-4 mark in league matches.
Coming off a season in which they won a program-record eight games, Albertus Magnus reeled off two separate two-game winning streaks this autumn. The Falcons made their second straight appearance in the GNAC Tournament and third overall with their first trip coming in 2013. AMC saw its season come to an end for the second season in a row on the road against in-state rival St. Joseph (Conn.) in the opening round of the conference's postseason tourney. The Falcons are still in search of their first-ever postseason tournament win.
Following the year, junior Kelsea Wildman (Hamden, Conn.) was named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Wildman had another quality season for the team, competing both at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and No. 4 singles.
After opening the autumn with a 6-3 setback at home versus Lesley in non-conference action, Albertus Magnus defeated conference foe Anna Maria and Vaughn at home. In the triumph against the AMCATS, Albertus got off to a quick start, taking two of the three doubles matches. The first Falcon point of the match came from the duo of freshman Paige Williams (Orange County, Va.) and freshman Nallely Magana (East Haven, Conn.) at No. 3 with a convincing 8-0 win. Sophomore Izzy Sabino (Cheshire, Conn.) and Wildman won 8-5 to give Albertus the early 2-0 edge. In singles play, the Falcons pulled away by taking five of the six matches. The five Albertus Magnus points came from No. 2 sophomore Alicia Weaver (Bethel, Conn.) who battled to 7-6, and 7-5 wins. Sabino, Wildman, Magana, and Williams all won their singles matches at Numbers 3-6 respectively.
Albertus Magnus earned its second win of the autumn by sweeping Vaughn, 9-0, at the Celentano Courts on September 24. The Falcons were dominant, dropping just one game all afternoon. Senior Zaida Velazco (Dominican Republic) earned wins at No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles.
After back-to-back losses AMC got back to .500 with a 9-0 beat down of York. Following the shutout win against the Cardinals, the Falcons netted their second straight win. Albertus Magnus hit the torad and doubled up GNAC foe Mount Ida, 6-3. The team got off to a solid start and held the advantage after doubles play. Sophomores Weaver and Sabino scored an 8-1 triumph at No. 2 and Williams and Magana cruised to an 8-0 victory at No. 3. In singles, the guests sealed the win by taking four of the six matches. All four Falcon wins came in straight sets. Magana and Williams were once again dominant in singles, winning by scores of 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Sabino also won her match at No. 3, easing to a 6-1, 6-2, victory.
Following the conference win, the Falcons suffered three losses in a row before ending the regular season with an impressive 8-1 victory on Senior Day versus New Rochelle. The highlight of the win came in singles play as Velazco scored a 6-4, 6-1 straight-set win at No.1 in the final home match of her collegiate career.
In doubles play, Sabino had a team-high five wins competing at No. 2 with two different partners. Weaver picked up four wins and several other Falcons had three on the year. In league play, the freshmen tandem of Magana and Williams were a perfect 2-0 at No. 3.
Sabino also led the team in singles wins with seven, competing at No. 3, while Magana, Williams and Wildman all had five singles wins apiece. Weaver had four wins, including one in conference play at No. 2 and Velazco had three wins at No. 1 during the regular season for AMC. Sabino's 7-3 mark in singles action was highlighted by a team-best three GNAC wins. Wildman's victories all came at No. 4, while Magana competed at No. 5 and Williams was a mainstay at No. 6.
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