Sophomore Michelle Weerasinghe fell to Quinnipiac's Lauren Wilamrth in the finals, 6-0, 6-0 as the Pirates opened their fall season last weekend at the three day Quinnipiac Invitational in Hamden, Conn. "We didn't play bad," head coach Greg Wyzykowski said. "We just encountered minor problems that stopped a few of the girls from making it. "Despite not taking the championship, the Hall still obtained significant wins in pairs. Sophomores Elizabeth Verow and Courtney Kilarski won their first round match in the "A" bracket. They defeated juniors Christen Cadigan and Brooke Hoover of the University of Rhode Island, 8-6. In the second round, the pair suffered a setback with a 9-7 loss to Connecticut senior Kelley LoRusso and freshman Abby McKeon.Also in the "A" bracket, sophomore Michelle Weerasinghe and freshman Karina Cordero won in the first round against sophomore Kristen Liu and senior Paulina Rys of Fairfield, 8-4. However, they lost their second match 9-8, to the University of Rhode Island.Junior Slavina Kaplonska and senior Alexandra Harvey were defeated in the first round of the "B" bracket, 8-4. They lost against Fairfield's seniors Gretchen Amberg and Michelle Cerrone. But in the consolation round, the pair won, 8-6, against Quinnipiac freshman Carly Loewenstein and sophomore Ali Warshavsky.In addition for the "B" bracket, junior Belfin Sunbul and senior Liza Chu dropped their opening match to Army's, 8-3."Good seniors left so three freshmen have been bumped up to starting this year," Wyzykowski said. "Almost the entire team is made up of underclassmen and already we are struggling with an ankle injury and different positions."There was mix and matching going on during the tournament becuase of the season being in its early stages."It's experimenting time," Wyzykowski said. "I like to try new doubles partners and see how everyone matches up."The Pirates continued action on Saturday as they started competition in singles' rounds. Weerasinghe advanced to the semifinals of the "C" bracket, and was the only Pirate in contention for a main draw tournament win. However, several players also advanced in the consolation brackets of their respective draws.Weerasinghe beat senior Amanda Barletta of the University of Rhode Island in a hard fought match, 7-6, 7-6, to advance to the quarters. In that round, she also topped Army's junior Maria Casaletto in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the semifinals.In the "A" bracket, sophomore Elizabeth Verow was eliminated in the first round after a, 6-0,6-4, loss to Quinnipiac's junior Mary Wilson, but played well in the consolation draw. Verow topped Fordham's sophomore Sarah Tremaine, 8-5. She also defeated junior Darcy Demers of Sacred Heart, 8-3, for a chance to advance to the finals. Unfortunately, Rys of Fairfield ended Verow's day with an 8-5 win.Weerasinghe beat Quinnipiac's freshman Natalie Duckor, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the final before losing to Wilmarth, 6-0, 6-0, in the championship."It was much improved from last year," Wyzykowski said of the tournament play.The Pirates head to West Point N.Y. this weekend to participate in the West Point Tournament. Melinda Stevens can be reached at melinda.stevens@student.shu.edu.
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