Moravian Women Head to Drew for Landmark Conference Championship Match on May 4
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian University women’s tennis squad will travel to top seed Drew University on Saturday, May 4 for the 2024 Landmark Conference Tournament Championship match beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Madison, New Jersey.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian University women's tennis squad will travel to top seed Drew University on Saturday, May 4 for the 2024 Landmark Conference Tournament Championship match beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Madison, New Jersey.
The Greyhounds enter the contest with a 15-4 record this spring including a 7-2 mark in Landmark Conference action under the guidance of third-year Director of Tennis Mariana Freitas. Moravian is in the postseason for the seventh consecutive year. The Hounds, who have won five Landmark Conference titles and a total of 13 conference championships in program history, fell to the Rangers, 6-3, on April 9.
The two squads met in both the 2022 and 2023 Landmark Conference Championship matches, also hosted by Drew with the Rangers winning 5-1 last spring and 5-2 in 2022.
Freshman Sydney Shifman leads the Hounds with a 14-1 mark in singles action this season while freshman Ali Bender is 12-2. Senior Mara Stapleton is 13-4 on the season while senior Gabby Martin has a 13-5 singles record.
Freshman Leah Zolotareva has an 11-6 singles slate this season while sophomore Izzy Szmodis is 11-4 in singles play on the year. Senior Emily Masters is 6-1 in singles action while senior Megan O'Brien has posted a 3-0 singles record and freshman Julia Bergman has a 1-0 mark.
The tandem of Stapleton and Szmodis is 15-4 this season to lead the Greyhounds in doubles matches while Shifman and Masters have teamed up for an 11-2 doubles record. Bender and Zolotareva have combined for a 9-3 mark while Martin and Masters are 4-0. Zolotareva and Shifman have posted a 3-1 mark while Masters is also 2-0 with O'Brien.
With the addition of Lycoming College and Wilkes to the Landmark Conference in 2023-24, all postseason tournaments expanded to six teams with the top two seeds earning first round byes. In the first round on Tuesday, Scranton defeated sixth seed Wilkes University while fourth seed Goucher College topped fifth seed The Catholic University of America, 5-0. In Thursday's semifinals, the Hounds topped Scranton, 5-1, while Drew defeated Goucher, 5-2.
The winner of Saturday's championship match will receive the Landmark Conference's automatic berth to the 2024 NCAA Division III Tournament.
