BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The SUNY Oneonta women's tennis team is back at the SUNYAC Championship for the first time since 2023, after defeating Cortland 4-0 in the semifinals Friday afternoon at the Lane-Starke Tennis Center.
"I'm so proud of the girls for bouncing back today after our first loss of the season last week," said Head Coach Brian Roser. "This might have been our best performance of the year, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect with the conference players here."
Senior Haley Peck (West Point, N.Y./James I. O'Neil) and junior Annika Cripe (Islip, N.Y./Islip) started strong on the No. 1 doubles court, defeating Christina Massoni and Gabriella Stanley, 6-1. Sophomore Kiersten Rufrano (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) and junior Taylor Plue (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) fell behind 5-6 to Reaghan Hughes and Alexandra Thut, but their match ultimately went unfinished. Sophomores Dakota Jiminez and Ashley Glaviano (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) gave Oneonta the edge heading into singles play, winning 7-5 over Anneli Adams and Gracie Guiliano.
Cripe kept the momentum going on the No. 2 singles court, taking two straight sets over Stanley, 6-1, 6-0. Plue followed suit, defeating Hughes, 6-3, 6-4, on the No. 3 court. On the No. 5 court, Jiminez also won in straight sets, defeating Adams, 6-4, 7-5. The other three matches went unfinished. Massoni forced a third set after Peck took the first, 6-1 3-6 1-1. Rufrano led Thut, 6-4, 4-2. Knapp was behind Guiliano, 1-6 4-5.
"We played Cortland super close in the regular season, but today the girls got it done with a 4-0 sweep. That's the exact momentum we need going into the finals tomorrow!"
Oneonta will face Oswego tomorrow in the SUNYAC finals at 1 p.m. as the Red Dragons look to earn their first title since 2022.
