April 17, 2008

Fairfield - The Sacred Heart tennis teams are seeded fourth in the Northeast Conference Tournament which will be held this weekend at the Mercer County Tennis Center in New Jersey. The women's squad will face Mount St. Mary's in the quarterfinals Friday at 11:00 am while the men's team will take on Robert Morris at 1:00 pm.

The Pioneer men are anchored by freshman Kirill Kasyanov (Yonkers, NY) who has gone 22-6 in dual match play this year at number one singles. That mark gives him the third best winning percentage in the league. Freshman Jinal Shah (Mombasa, Kenya) has played well during the spring season, posting a 14-5 season record in singles action.

On the women's side, the middle portion of the Pioneers' singles line-up has carried them to several wins during the season. Freshman Elizabeth Harrington (Westerly, RI) has the best record on the team, posting a 14-9 mark playing third and fourth singles. Junior Mandy Finkelstein (Portland, CT) also has a winning record, going 10-8 at fifth and sixth singles for the Pioneers. In doubles action Julianne Kasinow (Wall, NJ) and Ashley Amalfe (Clark, NJ) have teamed up to go 11-10 on the year.

The NEC women's semifinals will be held at 9:00 am on Saturday with the men's semis set for 1:00 pm. The women's championship match will be held Sunday at 10:00 am with the men's title match following at 12:00 pm.

2008 NEC Tennis Championships Brackets