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MIDDLEBURY, Conn. - - A dominating performance in the singles portion of the 2018 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship secured the Wilmington University women's tennis team's first CACC Tournament Championship, 4-0, over Concordia, in only the program's third year of existence.
In its first season as a program in 2016, the Wildcats finished second in the CACC and fell in the CACC Tournament Semifinals. The Wildcats have only gotten better. Last year, the Wildcats advanced to the CACC Tournament Championship match and this year took the next step in winning the whole thing.
On Sunday, the doubles point came down to the final match as the Wildcats got off to a great start with a 6-2 victory at No. 2 double with Begona Gomar and Anushka Sathe. Concordia tied the match by winning at No. 1 doubles, before Tess Paya and Marie Rondot secured the point with a 6-4 victory at No. 3 doubles.
The singles matches weren't as pressure packed, as the Wildcats won the first set in five of the six singles matches.
CACC Tournament MVP Begona Gomar gave the Wildcats their first singles point, winning at No. 1 singles, 6-3 and 6-2, over fellow First Team All-CACC competitor, Angelica Hantzis.
The No. 5 singles match was next to finish and it was again the Wildcats coming out on top, 6-2 and 6-2. Tess Paya gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead, as they only needed one more match to go their way to win the Championship.
It didn't take long before the Wildcats had their answer, as Andrea Ribalta slammed the Championship home with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles.
The Clippers came back to win the second set at No. 2 singles, and held leads in the second sets at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, which would have made thing interesting if the Wildcats didn't close the door when they did.
Gomar won both doubles and both singles matches she played in the CACC Tournament to win the CACC Tournament MVP. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Anushka Sathe, Tess Paya, and Laura Gil.
With the win, the Wildcats earn the CACC's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament in the spring, marking the first time in program history the Wildcats will compete in the East Regional Tournament.
The Wildcats' fall season comes to a close and they will return to action in the spring before heading to the postseason in May.
AGATE
2018 CACC Women's Tennis All-Tournament Team:
Wilmington:
Begona Gomar
Anushka Sathe
Tess Paya
Laura Gil
Concordia:
Angelica Karlsson Hantzis
Josefina Torres Martin
Tournament MVP:
Begona Gomar