The Mohawk Valley Women's Tennis team finished in 4th place as a team at the NJCAA National Championship Tournament. The full team was not able to make the trip, but the ones that did go were Philymena Dikar, Lotte Van Heeswijk, Sha Wee, and Morgan Kirkland. All four ladies had impressive performances and were able to grab victories to add points to the team total. With only four girls, the team only finished three points behind 3rd place Camden, and seven points behind runner-up RCSJ-Gloucester. Oxford Emory was named this years National Champion as they swept all nine flights totaling 36 points. The 4th place finish is the highest finish for the team at the national tournament in Coach Evanoff's tenure. They finished 6th place in 2021 and 5th place in 2022. All three national tournaments that the team has been to in his five seasons have produced at least one All-American. This year, for the first time there was a two-time All-American as Sha Wee was named an All-American in both singles and doubles. "I am incredibly proud of the way they fought the entire week. Every one of them battled through some sort of injury during the tournament and they would not stop playing. They left everything they had out on the court and made me proud as a coach. It is a true testament to their character and their competitive drive," said Coach Evanoff. Below are the results and placing for each of the players in their respective flights. Weather hindered play on Saturday afternoon forcing matches to be suspended until Sunday, so the back draw matches were forced to become one Pro 8 set instead of the traditional two out of three sets.
2nd Singles
Quarterfinal - Jenna Georgette (RCSJ-Gloucester) def. Philymena Dikar (MVCC) 6-4. 6-4. Back Draw - Madison Newbold (Camden) def. Philymena Dikar (MVCC) 8-3 - Philymena Dikar - 5th place
3rd Singles
Semifinal - Natalie Sosing (Camden) def. Lotte Van Heeswijk (MVCC) 6-1, 7-5 (7-2). Back Draw - Lotte Van Heeswijk (MVCC) def. Destiny Pipino (Hudson Valley) 8-0 - Lotte Van Heeswijk - 3rd place
5th Singles
Semifinal - Sha Wee (MVCC) def. Kaitlyn Steffans (RCSJ-Gloucester) 6-3, 6-1. National Championship - Jennifer He (Oxford Emory) def. Sha Wee (MVCC) 6-0, 6-0 - Sha Wee - 2nd place - 2nd Team All-American
6th Singles
Quarterfinal - Morgan Kirklang (MVCC) def. Amariah Harrison (Camden) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-1. Semifinal - Samantha Goldberg (Oxford Emory) def. Morgan Kirkland (MVCC) 6-0, 6-0. - Morgan Kirkland - 3rd place
1st Doubles
Semifinal - Emily Hamilton/Jenna Georgette (RCSJ-Gloucester) def. Philymena Dikar/Lotte Van Heeswijk (MVCC) 6-1, 6-3. Back Draw - Philymena Dikar/Lotte Van Heeswijk (MVCC) def. Jocelyn Richter/Destiny Pipino (Hudson Valley) 8-5. - Philymena Dikar/Lotte Van Heeswijk - 3rd place
3rd Doubles
Semifinal - Sha Wee/Morgan Kirkland (MVCC) def. Kaitlyn Steffans/Allison Barker (RCSJ-Gloucester) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. National Championship - Samantha Goldberg/Arba Zhao (Oxford Emory) def. Sha Wee/Morgan Kirkland (MVCC) 6-0, 6-0. - Sha Wee and Morgan Kirkland - 2nd place - 2nd Team All-American.