The emotions ran high, and they led to a victory for sixth-seeded Seton Hall tennis in the Pirates' consolation match in the Big East Championships on Saturday.
The Hall rolled with four straight-set wins, shutting out No. 10 Butler by a final tally of 4-0.
The all-time winningest doubles duo in the program's history of Rocio Portela and Chloe Sher ended their careers with a bang, with Sher getting the Pirates on the board.
The Hong Kong native earned her 14th victory in 21 appearances this season, besting Stephanie McLoughlin, 6-2, 6-4. The seniors were not the only ones who shined.
Hannah Liljekvist completed a run to finish the season with six wins in her last eight singles appearances.
The sophomore was the lone Pirate to deliver victories in both the blue and white's quarterfinal match against Xavier and the consolation contest Saturday.
Portela cruised past the Bulldogs' Grace Hyde, losing only two games and capping a spring with 11 dual-match wins along with five over Big East opponents. Sophomore Julia Keenan gave the Pirates the clinching point, winning 6-1, 6-2 and completing the season with 23 singles victories.
While the Pirates did not reach their ultimate goal of winning a Big East Championship, losing to third-seeded Xavier 4-1, head coach Greg Wyzykowski's team did not let that keep them from leaving the U.S. National Tennis Center in good spirits.
For the duo of Sher and Portela, another victory ends a pair of careers at Seton Hall that meant more than just winning on the tennis court.
John Fanta can be reached at john.fanta@student.shu.edu.
