West Hempstead, N.Y. -- Looking to win the first Northeast-10 Conference Championship crown in program history, the top-seeded Adelphi University women's tennis team hosted the No. 3 seeds, and defending champions, Stonehill College in Sunday's final at Hempstead Lake Indoor Tennis Club. The Panthers, who clinched the regular season NE-10 crown over Stonehill with a 5-4 win on October 12, earned a 5-2 victory after Stefani Lineva defeated Stonehill's Bailey Paradiso, 6-4, 6-3 in the deciding match at No. 1 singles. 

The Panthers (15-0) got off to a quick start in the match as Lineva and Karen Serina recorded the first victory of the day, 8-3, at No. 1 doubles over Bailey Paradiso and Emma Prinos. The Brown and Gold found themselves behind in each of the other two flights, but the teams continued to battle. At No. 3 doubles, Rebecca Fakas and Elena Nastasi found themselves down a service break several times in the match, but rallied to even the score before breaking serve to lead 7-6. With Nastasi serving for the match, Fakas cracked a smash winner at the net to secure the victory, putting the Panthers up 2-0.

At No. 2 doubles, the visiting Skyhawks (13-4) sprinted out to a 5-0 lead in the set but Elizabeth Kallenberg and Samantha Perri would not go down quietly, pulling to within one game of evening the score on three occasions. However, the comeback was not in the cards and Analise Kump and Victoria Barbetta sealed the 8-6 win to hand the Adelphi pair their first loss together this season and ensure that the Purple and White would not go into singles play down 0-3, as they did in the regular season meeting. 

In singles, Kump recorded a 6-2, 6-1 win over Serina at No. 3 to even the match at 2-2, while Lineva (No. 1), Kallenberg (No. 2), Fakas (No. 4) and Perri (No. 5) all claimed the opening sets of their matches. In the road to the finish, it was Kallenberg -- named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament -- who put Adelphi back in the lead with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Kirsti Toegemann at No. 2, before Perri continued her unbeaten run in singles at No. 5, winning 6-4, 6-2 to put Adelphi one win away from the title.

With Fakas and Lineva battling to see who could secure the victory for the Brown and Gold, it was Lineva who struck first -- breaking serve and holding to lead 6-4, 5-2 to put Adelphi just one game away from the win. Forced to retire with injury against Paradiso in the regular season encounter, and having battled injury for much of the season, Lineva looked to win her first two-set match at No. 1 singles since September 19. Paradiso held serve comfortably to put the match on Lineva's racket, but when Paradiso's final ball went long, Lineva duly delivered and clinched the championship for the Panthers.

Lineva, Perri and Kallenberg all earned All-Tournament team selection for their performances in the semifinal and championship, and they were joined by Stonehill's Kump and Toegemann. Kallenberg's MVP selection stemmed from a 3-1 record over the two matches, as she clinched Adelphi's semifinal victory on Friday with a three-set win in singles, before putting the Brown and Gold ahead for good in the championship.

"This feels like it was a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait," head coach Michael Misiti stated. "We have sacrificed a lot for this perfect season. This win is also dedicated to the other players who have played for me the last few years who continued to push the program forward. This has been our goal since I've started here nearly three years ago and we are all very happy that we finally reached it. It was always going to be a difficult match and we showed a lot of heart to get through."

Doubles
1. Karen Serina/Stefani Lineva (ADE) def. Bailey Paradiso/Emma Prinos (STO) 8-3
2. Analise Kump/Victoria Barbetta (STO) def. Samantha Perri/Elizabeth Kallenberg (ADE) 8-6
3. Rebecca Fakas/Elena Nastasi (ADE) def. Nicole Downey/Kirsti Toegemann (STO) 8-6

Singles
1. Stefani Lineva (ADE) def. Bailey Paradiso (STO) 6-4, 6-3
2. Elizabeth Kallenberg (ADE) def. Kirsti Toegemann (STO) 7-5, 6-3
3. Analise Kump (STO) def. Karen Serina (ADE) 6-2, 6-1
4. Rebecca Fakas (ADE) vs. Victoria Barbetta (STO) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
5. Samantha Perri (ADE) def. Nicole Downey (STO) 6-4, 6-2
6. Elena Nastasi (ADE) vs. Emma Prinos (STO) 0-4, unfinished

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About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the Fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 13 regular season conference titles, 19 tournament championships, 27 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 President's Cup twice (2013 and 2014), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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