LIU-Brooklyn women’s tennis team draws Miami in NCAA Tournament

NEC champion Blackbirds swooping down to South Florida

May 2, 2018 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Fresh off their second straight Northeast Conference Tournament title, the Long Island University Brooklyn women’s tennis team is headed to Miami this weekend to meet the No. 15 Hurricanes in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Photo courtesy of LIU Brooklyn Athletics

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Simply showing up and competing at the NCAA Tournament won’t be enough this time around for the Long Island University Brooklyn women’s tennis team.

The two-time defending Northeast Conference champions are eager to survive, and possibly even advance, this weekend when they visit No. 16-seed and host school Miami for the opening round of the national championships in Coral Gables, Florida.

Head coach Anthony Davison’s “Dream Team” is unbeaten in its last five matches and will be paired with the perennial powerhouse Hurricanes (16-7, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), Florida International University (17-2, 6-0 Conference USA) and the University of Central Florida (19-4, 5-1 ACC) in the initial knockout rounds.

Last May, the Blackbirds were even hotter on their way to Malibu, California, for a tournament-opening showdown against No. 12 Pepperdine, winning eight matches in a row en route to ending a seven-year title drought.

But that dream campaign, which marked the team’s return to the NCAAs for the first time since winning back-to-back crowns in 2009-10, ended with a thud as the Waves swept away their visitors from Downtown Brooklyn, 4-0.

“We learned our lesson from last year, playing in the NCAAs,” insisted reigning NEC Player of the Year and Blackbirds’ top-flight singles standout Anna Grigoryan following their conquest of Bryant in the conference finals two weekends ago in West Windsor, N.J.

“We are more prepared for this,” she added. “We practiced the whole year for this title and to go back this year … I think the whole team got much closer. I think everything is going to be OK.”

The Blackbirds (17-4 overall, 5-0 NEC) will certainly be tested right away against the 15th-ranked Hurricanes Friday afternoon after finding out they would be flying down to Miami during Tuesday night’s NCAA Selection Show.

Miami, which is spearheaded by top-flight star Estela Perez-Somarriba, currently ranked third among all singles players in the nation, is making its 23rd consecutive tournament appearance and has won its last 22 home matches in NCAA play.

The Hurricanes have also advanced beyond the first round in each of the last 16 years.

Those are the daunting numbers these Blackbirds are up against as they swoop down on South Beach hoping to shock the world and move on to Saturday’s regional championships.

“Fingers crossed,” Davison noted wistfully of his team’s chances to advance following the NECs.

“If the team improves the way they did this year, next year, we should be looking great again,” he added. “We put in a lot of work, everyone should be proud of what they accomplished. They are ready for it. They can definitely do it.”

A stunning upset victory over Miami would propel the Blackbirds into a match against either Florida International University or the University of Central Florida on Saturday with a chance to reach the Sweet 16.

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In local pro sports news, the New York Islanders didn’t fare very well in Saturday night’s NHL Draft Lottery.

The Brooklyn-based franchise, one of 15 teams that failed to make the playoffs in the 31-team league this past season, will pick 11th and 12th this coming June in Dallas.

The Islanders began the night hoping for a top-three pick via the NHL’s lottery system, which provides the non-playoff candidates a shot at moving up drastically regardless of their regular-season record.

New York was originally slated 10th and 12th overall, but Carolina was a lottery winner, moving up to the No. 3 pick, which dropped the Isles back into the 11th slot while retaining the 12th pick, which was received from Calgary last summer in the deal that sent long-time defenseman Travis Hamonic to the Flames.

The NHL revealed this week that Buffalo would retain the top overall pick, Carolina will follow in the No. 2 hole and Carolina will choose third.

The Isles also announced this week that Anders Lee, the team leader with a career-high 40 goals in 2017-18, would join Team USA for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in Denmark.

Lee, the Isles’ candidate for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his humanitarian work in the community, will be going up against some of his teammates when the tournament kicks off Friday in Copenhagen and Derning.

Super rookie Mathew Barzal, a front-runner for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top first-year player, Anthony Beauvillier, Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Pulock have already been selected to play for Team Canada at the prestigious event.

Lee is making his third trip to the world championships. He earned a bronze metal for the red, white and blue in 2015, and powered his way to a strong five-goal, three-assist performance for Team USA last year in Germany.