Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, February 19
Orlando, FL
5 PM
Army West Point
4
vs
3
Air Force
Women's Tennis Wins Gideon Cup in 4-3 Thriller Over Air Force
February 20, 2022 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. - Army West Point women's tennis reclaimed the historic Gideon Cup after a thrilling 4-3 victory over service-academy rival, Air Force, at the UTSA campus on College Match Day. The Black Knights overcame a 3-1 deficit, rallying back with four singles wins to clinch the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The action began on the doubles courts in Orlando in front of a packed crowd at the UTSA campus. Coach Paul Peck rolled out his starting lineup of Stephanie Dolehide and Caroline Vincent at one singles, Cooper Jackson and Paige Herremans at two singles and Paola Bou and Sophie McKenzie at three singles.
Jackson and Herremans continued their hot streak, dropping their opponents, 6-3, to claim the first win of the day. Air Force was able to squeak out a pair of wins at the other pairings to claim the doubles point and take a 1-0 match lead.
In singles action, the Black Knights surrendered two more points as Air Force increased its lead to 3-1.
The comeback began when Paige Herremans dropped her opponent at six singles in a 6-1, 6-2, straight-set win. Cooper Jackson and Paola Bou followed suit with wins at three and four singles, respectively. The senior, Bou, earned a straight set victory with a 7-6, 6-4 win. After losing a close first set, Jackson battled back to win the final two sets to secure a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 win. The pair of wins evened the score at three points and the match came down to the five singles matchup featuring Justine Dondonay.
Dondonay was locked in a battle on the fifth court and was forced to come from behind after losing the first set in a tie break. The sophomore rallied from behind to take the second set, 7-6, as the match came down to the third set. With the sell-out crowd and the rest of her team cheering her on, Dondonay cruised to a 6-2 third set win to complete the comeback for Army.
The Black Knights captured the Gideon Cup and will bring it back to West Point for the first time since 2004-05.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Army will return to West Point and will prepare to play a trio of matches agains NJIT, Marist and Quinnipiac at Lichtenberg Tennis Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The action began on the doubles courts in Orlando in front of a packed crowd at the UTSA campus. Coach Paul Peck rolled out his starting lineup of Stephanie Dolehide and Caroline Vincent at one singles, Cooper Jackson and Paige Herremans at two singles and Paola Bou and Sophie McKenzie at three singles.
Jackson and Herremans continued their hot streak, dropping their opponents, 6-3, to claim the first win of the day. Air Force was able to squeak out a pair of wins at the other pairings to claim the doubles point and take a 1-0 match lead.
In singles action, the Black Knights surrendered two more points as Air Force increased its lead to 3-1.
The comeback began when Paige Herremans dropped her opponent at six singles in a 6-1, 6-2, straight-set win. Cooper Jackson and Paola Bou followed suit with wins at three and four singles, respectively. The senior, Bou, earned a straight set victory with a 7-6, 6-4 win. After losing a close first set, Jackson battled back to win the final two sets to secure a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 win. The pair of wins evened the score at three points and the match came down to the five singles matchup featuring Justine Dondonay.
Dondonay was locked in a battle on the fifth court and was forced to come from behind after losing the first set in a tie break. The sophomore rallied from behind to take the second set, 7-6, as the match came down to the third set. With the sell-out crowd and the rest of her team cheering her on, Dondonay cruised to a 6-2 third set win to complete the comeback for Army.
The Black Knights captured the Gideon Cup and will bring it back to West Point for the first time since 2004-05.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Justine Dondonay's win boosted her singles record to 10-0 in 2021-22
- Cooper Jackson also protected her perfect singles record with a win at three singles
- Paige Herremans posted the largest win of the match, outscoring her opponent, 12-3 in a straight set win
- Herremans and Jackson also won their seventh match in a row on the doubles court. The duo sports an 11-1 overall recrord in 2021-22
- Army snapped a two-match losing skid against Air Force and won the Gideon Cup for the first time since 2004-05
- Paola Bou improved her record to 3-0 while playing four singles
- The win was the 499th in the career of Coach Paul Peck
Army will return to West Point and will prepare to play a trio of matches agains NJIT, Marist and Quinnipiac at Lichtenberg Tennis Center.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
12
16
Vivian Glozman / 0 [AF]
67
#2 Singles Match
12
11
Sydney Fitch / 0 [AF]
66
#3 Singles Match
123
676
Karina Chao / 0 [AF]
762
#4 Singles Match
12
76
Hailey Stelse / 0 [AF]
64
#5 Singles Match
123
676
Alexis Odom / 0 [AF]
762
#6 Singles Match
12
66
Alex Kuo / 0 [AF]
12
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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