Bloomsburg to Face Slippery Rock in NCAA Regional Final

BLOOMSBURG- The Bloomsburg University and Slippery Rock University women's tennis teams advanced to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region finals with 5-0 wins on Thursday in their respective semi-final matches. The Huskies beat Virginia State, while the Rock beat Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference rival Kutztown.

The Huskies and Slippery Rock will meet on Friday at 9 a.m. with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division II championship round next week in Orlando, FL.

In the Huskies match, Bloomsburg jumped out to a 3-0 lead after doubles play. At number one, Alison Carney (Muncy/Warrior Run) and Emily Palko (McMurray/Peters Township) earned an 8-2 win, while at number two, Katie Hasyn (Lansdale/North Penn) and Kristen Bonito (Bridgewater, MA/Coyle Cassidy) posted an 8-1 victory.

In singles play, Hasyn posted a 6-1, 6-3 victory at number one, while Laura Sullivan (Dingman's Ferry/Delaware Valley) earned a 6-0, 6-1 win at four singles. Bloomsburg was also leading in all four of the unfinished matches. For Sullivan it was her team-leading 16th victory of the year.

Slippery Rock also took a 3-0 lead after doubles play was complete. The team of Kayla Blackburn and Jessica Hilborn won 8-2 at number one, with Lara Rizzi and Casey Runyan winning 8-4 at number three.

In singles play, the Rock posted 6-0, 6-0 victories at number five from Rizzi and Runyan at number six to close out the match.

The matchup between the Huskies and the Rock will be the third this season. In February Slippery Rock posted a 6-3 win, while at the PSAC championships Bloomsburg won by a 5-3 score.