BUCKNELL INVITATIONAL
Lewisburg, Pa. | Varsity Tennis Courts
September 9-11
MEN'S TEAMS COMPETING
Mount St. Mary's, Bucknell, Colgate, Loyola (Md.), Saint Francis U
WOMEN'S TEAM COMPETING
Mount St. Mary's, Bucknell, Colgate, IUP, Loyola (Md.), Saint Francis U, Villanova
SETTING THE SCENE
The Mount St. Mary's University men's and women's tennis teams are set for their first official action of the 2016-17 season at the Bucknell Invitational spanning September 9-11. Wednesday's season-opening matches at Shepherd were cancelled midway through due to inclement weather.
ABOUT THE MOUNT
The men's squad finished the 2015-16 season at 11-10 overall and reached the NEC Quarterfinals, where they fell to third-seeded Saint Francis U. The Mountaineers graduated their top flight singles player, Austin Blake, but return No. 2 singles player Mateo DeSomocurcio, No. 3 Louis Tonon and No. 4 Darren Mast. DeSomocurcio tied for the team-lead with 22 doubles victories a season ago, and Tonon led all Mountaineers with 20 wins in singles action.
The Mountaineer women look to improve upon a 2015-16 campaign in which they posted four victories during the regular season before falling to eventual conference champion Fairleigh Dickinson in NEC quarterfinal action. Senior Erin Benefiel and sophomore Brittany Poje return for the Mountaineers after finishing top-two on the squad in both singles and doubles wins last year. The duo combined for 19 wins in singles play and 25 in doubles to pace the Mount.
MEN'S TOP RETURNEES
Singles victories: Louis Tonon (20), Mateo DeSomocurcio (14), Darren Mast (10)
Doubles victories: DeSomocurcio (22), Tonon (19), Brandon Wortkotter (19
Doubles teams: Tonon/Wortkotter (15), Mast/Wortkotter (3), DeSomocurcio/Tonon (3)
WOMEN'S TOP RETURNEES
Singles victories: Erin Benefiel (10), Brittany Poje (9), Emma Blake (6), Kelly Smith (6)
Doubles victories: Poje (14), Benefiel (11), Smith (10)
Doubles teams: Benefiel/Smith (8), Sruthi Kamprath/Poje (6), Blake/Poje (5)
MEN'S NEWCOMERS
Jean Armstrong | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Cupeyville School
∙ Two-time team captain at Cupeyville School
∙ Helped lead his team to league championships as a freshman and senior, and runner-up finishes his sophomore and junior years
∙ Named the team's Most Improved Player in each of his final two seasons
Zachary Burau | Grand Blanc, Mich. | Grand Blanc High School
∙ Three-time team MVP and two-year captain at Grand Blanc High School
∙ Helped lead his team to conference championships in each of his three seasons, and regional championships his freshman and junior years
∙ Earned all-state honors and was a regional champion as a sophomore and junior
∙ Compiled a career record of 75-29
WOMEN'S NEWCOMERS
Hannah Davis | Mokena, Ill. | Providence Catholic
∙ Took first place at sectionals and earned a berth in states as a sophomore
∙ Finished second at sectionals in each of her final two seasons
∙ Earned a first-place finish in conference and garnered all-conference honors as a senior
Alexa Quintanilla | Lima Peru | Colegio Maria Reina Marianistas
∙ Ranked as high as No. 7 in the South American Tennis Confederation in 2014
∙ Gold medal runner-up at the Junior South American Championship in 2014
∙ Earned the top No. 1 national ranking in FDPT singles and doubles (under-16) in 2013, and the top No. 1 ranking in singles (under-16) the following year
∙ Won the National Interclubes Championship (open) in singles/doubles in both 2013 and 2014.
NEXT UP
Both Mount St. Mary's teams return to Emmitsburg for their home-opening matches against Rider on Sunday, September 18 at 2 p.m. at the Mount Tennis Courts.
