#4 Women’s Tennis GNAC Glory Quest Continues in Semis vs. #1 JWU

THE FIELD
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Oct. 18
Match 1: #3 Simmons 5, #6 Albertus Magnus 0
Match 2: #4 Suffolk 5, #5 Saint Joseph (Conn.) 1 

Semifinals – Saturday, Oct. 21 – Winchester Indoor Tennis Courts
Match 3: #4 Suffolk vs. #1 Johnson & Wales – 2 PM
Match 4: #3 Simmons vs. #2 Regis – 4:30 PM

Championship – Sunday, Oct. 22 – Winchester Indoor Tennis Courts
Match 5: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner – 12:30 PM

LAST TIME OUT
The fourth-seeded Suffolk women's tennis team punched its ticket to the GNAC semifinals Wednesday night with a 5-1 victory over No. 5 St. Joseph (Conn.) at North Reading High School.

MORE READING: #4 Women's Tennis Secures Spot in GNAC Semis, Downs #5 USJ 5-1

RAMS RUNDOWN
Suffolk (8-6) secured its fifth consecutive trip to the league semifinals with a 5-1 victory over St. Joseph (Conn.). 

The Rams relied on their most consistent racquets to lock up the victory. Suffolk's ace Delaney Dunlap continued to impress on court one putting together the first singles victory of the night to improve to 9-5 overall. Ahilya Malhoutra remained undefeated winning her sixth singles decision of the season, before Danlyn Medou clinched the victory with her ninth victory of the season. 

In doubles, Suffolk's most successful tandem of Dunlap and Keely Hardy continued to shine with a win in the second slot, with Malhoutra and Medou also teaming up for a victory on court three.

WILDCATS WAYS
Johnson & Wales sealed the regular season championship as the Wildcats cruised through conference competition with an 6-0 record, winning all, but one league match by a 9-0 sweep. 

Nina Cohen has played exclusively as the Wildcats ace, producing an 11-3 mark. Delaney Macchirole, who plays on courts three and four, respectively, owns the most successful singles record at 13-0.   

Cohen and Macchirole team up in doubles action as JWU's top tandem. The duo is 12-2 with the second slot pair of Madison Hernandez and Holly Olson sporting a 13-1 record.

WE MEET AGAIN
Johnson & Wales blanked Suffolk women's tennis, 9-0, at Centre Courts Oct. 11 as the Rams wrapped up its six-match road swing. 

MORE READING: Johnson & Wales Stuns Women's Tennis

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk trails the all-time series with JWU, 7-15.
• The Wildcats blanked the Rams in the last meeting Oct. 11 this season.
• Suffolk and Johnson & Wales will meet for the seventh time in the GNAC tournament and fifth time in the semifinals. In such contests, the Rams have yet to take down the Wildcats, trailing 0-6.  
• The last time the two teams met in the conference semis was in 2015 with the Wildcats taking a 5-4 thriller.

RAMS IN THE GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The Rams made their 11th straight appearance in the GNAC Tournament and first-ever as the fourths seed. Suffolk advanced to the semifinals for the fourth time from the quarterfinals and makes their fifth consecutive final four appearance this season. The Rams GNAC postseason record stands at 7-8 (4-2 quarterfinals, 2-5 semifinals, 1-1 finals). Overall, the blue and gold raised the conference crown once in 2007, the inaugural GNAC Women's Tennis title.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The winner of the match will take on the winner of No. 2 Regis and No. 3 Simmons Sunday, Oct. 22 at 12:30 p.m. at the Winchester Tennis Center.