Villanova and Creighton Advance After Day 1 of BIG EAST Tennis Championship
CAYCE, S.C. - The first day of the 2016 BIG EAST Tennis Championship Presented by Jeep saw the higher seed come out on top in both matches as No. 7 Villanova bested No. 10 Providence 4-0 and eighth-seeded Creighton won its first ever BIG EAST Championship match, defeating ninth-seeded Providence 4-0.
The Bluejays jumped out in front early by securing the doubles point and never looked back. Michaela Henne and Katherine Nelsen came away with a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles over Nicole Cysterski and Risa Takanaka and not long after that Ashley Ishimura and Darby Rosette defeated Alana Prinos and Brooke Burnside 6-2 at No. 1 to clinch the point.
Creighton kept the momentum going into singles play as Sam Anderson topped Brooke Burnside 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 3 spot and Nelsen defeated Amanda Pitocco 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5. Claire Embree sealed the victory for the Bluejays with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles over the Friars’ Hannah Zangari.
The Bluejays’ win is their first at a BIG EAST Championship since joining the league and was the school's first at a league championship since a victory over Bradley in 2009 at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
In the 7-10 matchup, Villanova came storming out of the gates as Tori Smith and Lindsey Evans topped Rachel Sutton and Kailey Eaton 6-3 at No. 1 and Victoria Martinez and Sydney King defeated Joeclyn Koester and Konstantina Adami 6-4 at No. 2 to secure the doubles point for the Wildcats.
Evans kept thing on track for Villanova with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Eaton in the No. 3 spot Samantha Schafer defeated Koester 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 4 position Paulina Bajet capped the day with 6-2, 6-4 victory over Michelle McFerran at the No. 5 spot, sending the Wildcats to the quarterfinals.
The women’s quarterfinals begin on Friday at 9 a.m. as Creighton will face top-seeded DePaul and Villanova takes on second-seed Xavier. No. 3 St. John’s meets No. 6 Seton Hall also at 9 a.m. and Georgetown and Marquette will clash in the 4-5 matchup at 12:30 p.m. Providence and Butler will meet in the women's back draw which is currently scheduled for a 4 p.m. start time.
The BG EAST men’s quarterfinals will kick-off at 12:30 p.m. on Friday with No. 1 St. John’s facing No. 8 Villanova and No. 2 Marquette hitting the courts against No. 7 Creighton. The quarterfinals continue at 4 p.m. with third-seeded DePaul versus sixth-seeded Butler and No. 4 Georgetown squaring off with No. 5 Xavier.
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Friday's schedule may be adjusted due to weather conditions in Cayce. Check @BIGEASTChamps, #BIGEASTtennis along with the Championship Central for the most up-to-date information.