The outcome was never in doubt.
After a dominating season that saw opponent after opponent backhanded into submission, the top-seeded Queens College Knights were crowned as champions – defeating No. 2 Molloy, 7-0, to win the 2010 East Coast Conference (ECC) Women’s Tennis Title at Queens College on Friday, October 8.
The Knights rolled through the season and the playoffs with a perfect 12-0 record – by comparison, the Molloy Lions, who boasted an accomplished squad, finished 8-6.
The doubles tandem of Daniela Celi and Taylor Barber paved the Knights’ road to victory with an 8-0 win over Annie Ayala and Caitlin Oritz of Molloy. Erika Goldsmith and Andrea Salvetova then combined to defeat Madeline Jurlano and Nikki Gloria, 8-1, before Maria Mendes and Laura Mocodeanu completed the doubles sweep with an 8-2 victory.
The Knights made it to the finals after doing away with rivals C.W. Post in relatively easy fashion in the semifinals, defeating the Pioneers 5-0, after beating them 9-0 twice during the regular season. The Molloy Lions were also in trouble from the start, as they failed to earn even a single regular season match point against the marauding Knights.
It’s been a banner season for the Knights and for Mocodeanu in particular. The senior was named ECC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and three of her fellow Knights earned all-ECC honors for the 2010 season.
Joining Mocodeanu on the first team was last year’s ECC Rookie of the Year, Goldsmith, while senior Mendes and juniors Barber and Andrea Salvetova earned all-ECC second team honors.
Mocodeanu continues to impress from the courts. She boasts an 11-1 record in singles play, with her only loss coming in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Finals match. The senior holds a 7-0 mark in dual matches at the No. 1 singles spot, while compiling a 10-0 record in dual match doubles play.
The girls on the Queens College squad owe their success to head coach Alan Nagel, who for the second straight year was named Coach of the Year by his peers.
With the championship, the Knights earned an automatic bid to play in the 2011 NCAA East Regional in May 2011.
FINALS BOX SCORE:
Queens College 7 Molloy College 0
1 D Salvetova/Goldsmith (Q) def. Jurlano/Gloria (M) 8-1
2 D Mocodeanu/Mendez (Q) def. Frey/Dicroce (M) 8-2
3 D Barber/Celi (Q) def. Ortiz/Ayala (M) 8-0
1 S Laura Mocodeanu (Q) def. Jeana Frey (M) 6-0, 6-1
2 S Erika Goldsmith (Q) def. Madeline Jurlano (M) 6-1, 3-0 unfinished
3 S Maria Mendez (Q) def. Nikki Gloria (M) 6-0, 3-1 unfinished
4 S Taylor Barber (Q) def. Gabrielle Dicroce (M) 6-0, 6-0
5 S Andrea Salvetova (Q) def. Caitlin Ortiz (M) 6-1, 6-0
6 S Daniela Celi (Q) def. Annie Ayala (M) 6-0, 6-0
