WEXFORD, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women’s tennis team made history this weekend. The Lions won their sixth straight Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) and 10th overall in the 13th year existence of the conference.
Behrend became the first-ever team to sweep all six singles and all three doubles matches to earn the AMCC’s bid to the NCAA Tournament in the spring. It is the first time in conference history the winner advances to postseason play. The Lions held a two-point lead after day one of competition and then scored 13 points better than second place on the final day to make capturing the conference title look easy.
Four out of the six players tallied their third straight individual conference crown. Two-time AMCC Player of the Year Arica Christman proved that third time is a charm at the No. 1 spot. After receiving a bye into the second round for being the top player in this flight, Christman defeated Leah Beilhart of Altoona before going on to post a 6-0, 6-3 win in the finals to hoist her third trophy.
Also collecting her third consecutive title was Stephanie Cattron. Seated third at the second singles flight, she swept her first opponent 6-0, 6-0 and then only gave up two set points in the second round, defeating second-seeded Laura Arce of Altoona, 6-1, 6-1. Cattron pulled her second upset of the day with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 1 Melissa Kanalley of D’Youville.
At No. 3 singles as the top seed, Hillary Lasher easily won in her first match 6-0, 6-0 before posting a 6-4, 6-1 win for the championship over Jessica Lampka. Lasher tallied her second title at third singles. In 2008, she claimed the title at No. 5.
Junior Leslie Durante is the fourth player to accomplish the tri-peat, but won it this year at her highest flight (fourth). She faced fifth-seeded Yana Kancheva of La Roche 6-1, 6-1 and then finished off Natalie Freed of Pitt-Bradford, 6-1, 6-0 in the finals.
Allison Quigley proved at No. 5 singles that she deserved that top-ranking for the tournament. She only gave up four set points. Quigley recorded a 6-0, 6-3 victory and then had no problem in the championship match, winning 6-1, 6 0 over Faith Barlow from Altoona.
The sixth and final singles win to complete the set was Jade Buhite. The third seed had a challenge in the first round, going to three sets. She delivered a 6-2, 2-6, and 6-0 win to advance to the second round. The junior defeated Natalie Weiss of Pitt-Bradford, 6-1, 6-1 and then won 6-4, 6-1 against top-seeded Angela Poblocki from D’Youville.
The first doubles featured Christman and Cattron. The duo recorded scores of 8-1 in the second round and again in the final over No. 1 Samantha Rowen and Melissa Kanalley for the title. The champions at No. 2 doubles were Lasher and Durante. They won 8-1 to start and tallied an 8-3 victory for the championship. Buhite and Quigley were the last couple for the Lions to compete in the doubles competition. The pair were 8-3 winners in their first match and were able to collect an 8-1 victory for the complete sweep at the conference tournament.
