Binghamton, NY – The SUNY Oneonta women's tennis squad advanced to the finals of the SUNYAC championships for the third consecutive time yesterday, but fell short in the championship match to rival New Paltz 5-1.  The Red Dragons punched their ticket to the finals with a lopsided win over the SUNY Oswego Lakers easily toppling them 5-0.

Double's duo in the first slot was senior Mya Lipscomb (Peekskill/Walter Panas) and freshman Sophia Schutte (Great Neck/Great Neck) winning in a tight match before pulling away 8-5.  The second flight had junior Madeline Carswell (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Central) and freshman Jayden Carrillo (Yorktown/Yorktown) advancing 8-1 and the junior pair of Rebecca Macdonald (Brooklyn/Leon M. Goldstein) and Olivia Fraser (Queensbury/Queensbury) shutting out their Laker foe 8-0.

Fraser, Lipscomb and Carswell concluded the rout winning in the first, second and third positions respectfully with only two games lost between the three Red Dragons.  The matches at four, five and six were not played since the Red Dragons clinched the dual competition 5-0 earning their third trip to the finals in three consecutive seasons.

The final against New Paltz began at 8 PM was full of the tension expected in a final showdown.  The highlight of the doubles competition which began the match was Macdonald and Fraser pairing again and clinching an all-important triumph to salvage the doubles.  Down only 2-1 going into singles allowed the Red Dragons to be in striking distance.

Singles was dramatic and went on for over 2 ½ hours before a winner was declared.  Carswell played an outstanding match in the third spot and was ahead 6-2, 5-4 before play was halted.  Her performance earned her the tournament all-player at third singles sharing the honor with her New Paltz opponent.  Schutte lost the first set 6-4 but was ahead 4-3 when play was stopped.  Macdonald also was up in the sixth position; she lost the first set but won the second set 6-2 and was up a break of serve in the third when New Paltz clinched the championship.  Macdonald was also honored as an all-tournament player at the sixth slot. The Hawks took the championship as a result of the wins at first and second doubles and then at first and second singles with their clincher coming in the fifth spot.

While the Red Dragons fell short of winning their first ever championship with their third consecutive finals appearance, they were down three starters from last year due to the COVID pandemic and New Paltz brought back all their starters.  The success for SUNY Oneonta Women's tennis was quite an achievement playing a reduced schedule with a very different looking roster from the 2019 campaign.  Head Coach Lonnie Mitchel added "this shortened season was perhaps the most challenging in my career due to the constant COVID testing and adjusting for changes in scheduling".  He added, "I am most proud of this great women's team dealing with all the adversity they had to endure just to get through the season, coming within and eyelash of winning the championship should be something every woman on this squad should celebrate."

The women's tennis team will reconvene in just a few months with the preseason training getting underway in mid-August.