By Jay Gearan, Staff Writer
October 24, 2013
Worcester, MA --- The Worcester State University women's tennis team made school history this fall.
The Lancers captured the fourth seed in the Little East Tournament and hosted the program's first-ever home postseason contest.
"It was exciting for us hosting a playoff match," said coach Albana Xhemollari, who noted that the women's tennis program was dropped for several years before being reinstated in 2006. The Lancers joined the Little East Conference three years ago.
Senior captains Brooke Michanczyk and Laura Sarkis have led the Lancers to seven victories entering this week's slate of postseason matches. Wins over Becker, Salem State, Western Connecticut State and Plymouth State have highlighted the season.
Michanczyk, from Middletown Conn., is tied for second among all-time WSU women tennis players with 51 points. She entered this week of competition only five points away from the top spot. Among doubles winners, she had 26 doubles victories to her credit and was two points shy of a first-place tie on the list.
At the fourth singles spot she is 9-4, the second most wins among those playing as the fourth seed in the Little East Conference.
A former field hockey player for one year at WSU, Sarkis, from West Springfield, moved into the top 10 scoring recently after the Lancers 5-4 win over Plymouth State. She has 37 points to her credit with 22 wins coming in singles play over the course of her three-year career.
Sarkis is 9-4 overall and 7-1 in the complete Little East circuit with her lone loss in conference play coming against Bridgewater State. Sarkis and Michanczyk lead the team with 18 points each, followed by Shelby Jankins, a freshman from West Brookfield, with 13.
Jankins, a former Quaboag High star, has six wins at the second singles spot, and along with sophomore Megan Shepard from Middletown Conn., has built a solid, 7-7 record in first doubles.
Other varsity players include Miranda Biron, Danielle Candelieri, Cassandra Goncalves, Page Hirons, Taylor Tomasetti, Elise Mulready and Paige Moriarty.
In late September the Lancers swept doubles and took four of six singles matches in a 7-2 win over Clark University. That match marked the Lancers fifth among their last six matches. The victory over Clark was the first since Oct. 19, 2006 in the final match of that season.
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