3-PEAT: WilmU Downs Jefferson for CACC WTEN Title
OFFICIAL CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO ALBUM
WILMINGTON, Del. (October 21, 2023) -- Wilmington University made it three in a row on Saturday as the top-seeded Wildcats defeated No. 2 seed Thomas Jefferson University, 4-1, in the 2023 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Tennis Championship Final at the Delcastle Tennis Center in Delaware. It marked the third time in as many seasons the Wildcats and Rams squared off in the league final.
Despite the NCAA regional being held in early May, Wilmington locked up the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament at a site to be determined. WilmU hosted last spring's regional tournament, won it, and advanced to the national tournament in Florida.
Valentina Ivankovic won at No. 4 singles which clinched the conference championship for the Wildcats. She had a tremendous first set versus Manni Zhang, as she held a 7-6 win, and then followed with a 6-1 triumph in set two.
The Wildcats captured the doubles point by winning two of the three matches, but Jefferson responded by knotting the score at 1-1 when Noelle Frenzel was victorious at No. 1 singles with a straight-sets win (6-3, 6-1) over Kushi Khandoji.
It was Wilmington from then on. WilmU went back on top 2-1 when Alva Norberg was the winner at No. 3 over Charly Egger (6-4, 6-3). It was Norberg's second singles win in as many days -- and combined with a doubles win on Sunday -- enabled her to be named the most valuable player of the championship. Marley Trifunovic then made it 3-1 at No. 5 with a straight-sets triumph over Rose Huang (6-2, 6-3).
Trifunovic joined Norberg on being named to the CACC Championship All-Tournament Team. Jess Purdy and Ivankovic also received the honor, and Jefferson had a pair make the team including Frenzel and Egger. Frenzel was 2-0 in singles action during the weekend, while Egger clinched the Rams' trip to the finals with a victory in Saturday's semifinals versus Chestnut Hill College.
2023 CACC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Noelle Frenzel (Jefferson)
Charly Egger (Jefferson)
Valentina Ivankovic (Wilmington)
Alva Norberg (Wilmington)
Jess Purdy (Wilmington)
Marley Trifunovic (Wilmington)
MVP: Alva Norberg (Wilmington)
ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 12 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican (N.Y.) University, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Post University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.