May 9, 2014
Championship Home – Complete Results – Photos
TYLER, Texas – In one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of NJCAA tennis, ASA (N.Y.) edged out perennial power Tyler (Texas) Friday for the NJCAA DI Women’s national championship. The Avengers not only earned their first women’s tennis crown but secured their program’s first national title in any NJCAA sport.
Tied with Tyler at 45 points entering the doubles finals, ASA defeated the Apaches in two of the final three events to claim the championship. Avengers freshmen Kyla Klier and Danielle Winter won No. 3 doubles 6-2, 6-3 over Tyler sophomore Kerry Wiegand and freshman Ashleigh De Wet. The Avengers clinched the titles In No. 2 doubles where sophomores Dayana Agasieva and Diana Perez defeated Apaches sophomore Kylie Keynaud and freshman Paige Murdock 6-4, 6-4.
The Avengers boasted four more victories over Tyler in the singles finals. Freshman Natallia Vavulina earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the top flight over Tyler sophomore Fausthyara Pietersz, while Agasieva defeated De Wet 7-6, 7-6 in No. 3 singles. Klier picked up a 7-6, 6-0 No. 4 singles win against Reynaud and Perez earned the No. 5 singles title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Murdock.
Entering the tournament with four consecutive national championships under their belt – 17 in school history – the Apaches won a singles and a doubles title during the week. Freshman Joanna Savva won the No. 2 singles event 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 over sophomore Fatyha Berjane from Georgia Perimeter. In No. 1 doubles, Savva and Pietersz earned Tyler’s only victory over ASA – defeating Vavulina and freshman Daniela Vanko 6-2, 6-2.
The No. 6 singles crown went to Florida State-Jacksonville freshman Thais Castiglioni who beat Georgia Perimeter freshman D’Asha Davis 6-1, 6-4.
ASA’s 47 points was enough to hold off Tyler whose 46 points earned them a second-place finish. Georgia Perimeter took third with 32 points, followed by Cowley County (Kan.) and Florida State-Jacksonville who rounded out the top five with 25.5 points each.
Photos courtesy of Sara Scarborough, TJC Athletics / Texas A&M University intern