Trio of Lyons corrals singles titles during Wheaton Invitational

March 30, 2008

NORTON, MA- Sophomore Katherine Knies (Purdys, NY/North Salem) and freshmen Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, CA/Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, NH/Central) each won singles flights titles, and the Wheaton College women's tennis team had doubles tandems reach both championship matches during the non-scoring Wheaton Invitational on Sunday at the Clark Tennis Courts.

During their first competition since March 12, the Lyons hosted Division I College of the Holy Cross, Division II Bentley College and Division III Roger Williams University in a four-school event that incorporated three singles and two doubles flights.

At first singles, Teague breezed through her opening match, 6-2, 6-0 while defeating a Roger Williams player with a 12-3 mark before downing Bentley sophomore Kelly Fleszar (Larchmont, NY/Ursuline School), 6-2, 6-3 in the championship round.

Geocaris did similarly well in the second position, downing a Falcon with a 13-2 record by a 6-0, 6-4 count before knocking off Roger Williams senior Kelsey Parente (Barkhamsted, CT/Northwestern Regional), who carried a 13-1 record, 6-3, 6-1 for the crown.

In the third singles flight, Knies downed a Holy Cross opponent, 6-1, 6-1 before battling through a 7-5, 6-3 victory in the championship against Bentley sophomore Rachel Harbert (Boxford, MA/Masconomet Regional).

Senior Maya Milic-Strkalj (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central School) and freshman Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) teamed for Wheaton at first doubles, as they began the day with an 8-2 win over a Roger Williams twosome that had been 13-3 entering the match. The tandem then fell 8-3 in the finals against Bentley juniors Marcia Gilbride (Topsham, ME/Mount Ararat) and Heather Haggerty (Hanover, MA/Hanover).

At second doubles, juniors Mallory Farmer (Washington, CT/The Gunnery) and Oriana Federico (Andover, MA/Lawrence Academy) downed a Bentley pair, 8-6 but narrowly fell in the championship to Holy Cross junior Paige Brown (Huntington, NY/Huntington) and sophomore Kathryn Wilkie (Oak Brook, IL/Fenwich), 9-8.

The Lyons, who are ranked 21st in the Northeast region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and carry an 11-6 record in dual matches, complete their 2007-08 campaign on Friday, as they host Johnson & Wales University at 4:00 p.m.

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