Tepas Wins State Singles Title
Alison Tepas 鈥�14 captured the first singles title last October at the New York State Division III Championships, hosted by Ithaca College. Unseeded heading into the opening round, Tepas won four matches, including a 6-2, 6-3 win over St. Lawrence鈥檚 Elkie Vandenbeemt in the championship match.
Tepas became Nazareth鈥檚 first state singles titlist since 1994 when Hall of Famer Kathleen Moynihan 鈥�96 won the title in both singles and doubles.
鈥淚 felt pretty confident going into the finals after I was able to beat the No. 1 seed on Saturday,鈥� says Tepas, a native of Orchard Park, N.Y. 鈥淚 think I鈥檓 playing as well as I ever have鈥攅specially from a mental standpoint.鈥�
The championship final title was a rematch of a dual match that Tepas and Vandenbeemt played last spring. Vandenbeemt won that match 6-2, 7-6. This time, Tepas turned the tables by 鈥減laying consistently and waiting for my opportunities,鈥� she says.
Tepas opened the tournament by upsetting third-seeded Melissa Hirsch of Skidmore 6-2, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Elmira鈥檚 Amy Schmidt 6-2, 6-1. Then in the semifinals, she upset top-seeded Maite Vera Antelo of RIT 6-4, 3-6, 10-5.
Tepas later was honored for the fourth year in a row as a first-team Empire 8 Conference all-star for both singles and doubles. She teamed with Sara Kashtan 鈥�17 to deliver a 7-5 record at first doubles. In addition, Krista Pagan 鈥�14 and Ami Petosa 鈥�16 were second-team all-stars in singles while the doubles tandem of Petosa and Jean McCarthy 鈥�17 earned honorable mention recognition.
Alison Tepas '14