University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
   Women's Tennis  

Stories & Highlights
2007-08 season 

Bedway Falls in CACC Tournament Semis; Earns All-Conference Honors (10/22/07)

Senior women's tennis player Amanda Bedway, competing in her final tournament of her college career, reached the singles semi-finals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Individual Tournament, hosted by Chestnut Hill College and played at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

Bedway's (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) performance in reaching the singles semi-finals, earned her one of the seven spots on the CACC All-Conference Team, the first time in her four year career that she has been named to the All-Conference Team. The women's tennis team was also selected, by a vote of the head coaches, to receive the CACC Team Sportsmanship Award.

The Tournament, held Friday and Saturday, featured 16 of the top individual players amongst the eight CACC schools competing in the singles competition along with ten doubles teams. Bedway and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) represented USP in the singles and teamed up to represent the Devils in the doubles competition.

Bedway earned the number three seed for the singles tournament and faced Karen Guwuriro of Chestnut Hill College in the first round, defeating the Griffin's #3 singles player, 10-0 to advance. Leonard also won her first round match, defeating Stephanie Carillo of Post University to advance and face top seed Maddie Smith of Philadelphia University.

In the singles quarterfinals, Bedway defeated Melanie Pulsinelli of Holy Family University 6-3, 6-3 and advanced to the semi finals. Leonard, however lost to Smith, the eventual champion, 6-2, 6-1. The day ended for the Devils when Bedway and Leonard lost 8-5 to Autumn Florez and Corrine Stinemire of Georgian Court University in the doubles quarterfinals.

On Saturday, Bedway faced #2 seed Luisiana Souto of Goldey Beacom College. The GBC freshman controlled the match and went on to score a 6-3, 6-4 win, ending the tournament for Bedway.

Bedway finished the season with a school record 11 wins in singles competition, against only three losses. She concludes her career with a .725 winning percentage, winning 37 singles matches. In doubles, Amanda finished the season with an 8-4 record and has a career mark of 34-14 (70.8%). Leonard finished the season with a 5-8 singles mark and an 8-4 doubles mark, teaming with Bedway.

Rams Shutout Devils in CACC Semi-Finals (10/12/07)

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Women's Tennis Championship began Friday morning as the second-seed Philadelphia University Rams defeated the #3 seed University of the Sciences in Philadelphia 5-0 in the first semi-final match.

The loss ends team competition for the Devils, who finish the season with a 7-4 overall record. USP finished 4-2 in conference games. The Rams (13-3, 6-1) will advance to play the winner of the Georgian Court University/Holy Family University match in the CACC Championship match on Saturday, October 13, 2007. USP's top two singles players and their top doubles team will participate in the CACC Individual Championships next Friday and Saturday.

Philadelphia jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead by sweeping all three doubles matches. Maddie Smith and Adriana Rodriguez defeated senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) , 8-6 at #1 doubles while Daniela Rodriguez and Christina Kettle handed junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) and freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) an 8-3 loss at #2 doubles. Sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) and junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) lost to Katie Stracquatanio and Amanda Brennan, 8-4 at #3 doubles to complete the Ram sweep.

Needing to win just two singles matches to end the contest and advance to the CACC Championship, the Rams did just that, winning the two contests to complete the 5-0 sweep. Leonard lost to Daniela Rodriguez 6-3, 6-2 at #2 singles while Hasan fell to Adriana Rodriguez 6-0, 6-1 at #3 singles. With the five points secure, the match ended while the remaining singles matches were in progress.

The next competition for the Devils will be the CACC Individual Championships on Friday and Saturday, October 19-20, 2007, hosted by Chestnut Hill College and played at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School.

Tigers Hand Devils First Conference Loss (10/4/07)

Holy Family University handed the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's tennis team their first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss of the season on Thursday afternoon at the McNeil Field Courts, defeating the Devils 8-1.

The loss drops the Devils to 4-1 in conference games and 7-2 overall. Holy Family improves to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in conference matches.

Senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) earned the Devils lone point on the afternoon in the singles competition as Holy Family's Lauren Neill started the match but could not continue due an injury. Bedway did suffer her first loss of the season in doubles as the team of Queena Borres and Shakir Willet defeated her and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.), 8-2 in the #1 doubles match.

Holy Family swept the other two doubles matches as Liana Lui and Neill defeated freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.), 8-2 at #2 doubles. Sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) and junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) lost at #3 doubles, 8-0 to Ashley Berge and Melanie Pulsanelli.

In singles, Lui defeated Sebastiani 6,-0, 6-0 at #4 singles while Willet handed Hasan a 6-0, 6-2 loss at #3 singles. Berge defeated Exler, 8-3 at #6 singles while Perfetti lost by the same 8-3 score to Pulsanelli at #5 singles. Borres defeated Leonard at #2 singles for the final Tiger point.

The Devils return to action on Saturday, October 6, 2007 when they take on Philadelphia University in East Falls. The first match begins at noon.

Devils Defeat Lions to Remain Undefeated in Conference (10/2/07)

Amanda Bedway recorded a straight set shutout as the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's tennis team remained undefeated in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games with a 7-2 win over Georgian Court University Tuesday afternoon in Lakewood, New Jersey.

The win improves the Devils record to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in conference games. Georgian Court falls to 5-7 overall and 3-3 in league play. The win also clinches a playoff berth as the Devils can finish no worse than fourth in the league with just three conference games remaining.

The senior Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) started the afternoon by teaming up with junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) to record an 8-5 win at #1 doubles over Autumn Florez and Corrine Stinemire to give the Devils their first point. Later in the singles competition when the Lions had closed the gap to 3-2, Bedway completed a 6-0, 6-0 win over Nikki Schlegel at #1 singles, giving USP a 4-2 lead in the match.

The Devils got to that point by winning all three doubles matches to head into the singles competition with a 3-0 lead. After Bedway and Leonard won their match, freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) scored a 9-7 win over Melissa Gaffney and Schlegel at #2 doubles. Sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) and junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) completed the sweep with an 8-5 win over Natalie Grieci and Katarina Dockum at #3 doubles.

The Lions came roaring back, taking the first two singles matches of the afternoon to close within one, 3-2. Florez defeated Leonard 6-3, 6-4 at #2 singles while Stinemire defeated Hasan 6-3, 6-3 at #3 singles. Bedway followed with her shutout win at #1 singles to give the Devils a 4-2 lead. USP then swept the lower three singles matches to complete the 7-2 win. Sebastiani gave the Devils their fifth point with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Gaffney at #4 singles. Perfetti followed with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Grieci at #5 singles and Exler completed the match with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Dockum at #6 singles.

The Devils return to action on Thursday, October 4, 2007 when they face last year's CACC Champions, Holy Family University.

Devils Rebound to Defeat Explorers (9/21/07)

Twenty-four hours after losing their first match of the season, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia again took to the road to take on Division I La Salle University on Thursday afternoon for their third road match in three days. The Devils rebounded from their loss to West Chester University a day before, defeating the Explorers 5-4.

The win improves the Devils record to 6-1 overall. USP remains at 3-0 in league play.

The Devils found themselves behind early in the match as the Explorers captured two of the three doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead going into the singles competition. USP's lone point in doubles came at the #1 position as the team of senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) defeated Lauren Perry and Rachel Barnhart, 8-4. Bedway and Leonard improve to 7-0 in doubles on the season. La Salle's Martha Kutteh and Christina Gomez handed freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) an 8-6 loss at #2 doubles while Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) and junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) fell to Katie Dutch and Tasha Deneen at #3 doubles.

In singles competition, Sebastiani improved to 6-1 on the season with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Gomez at the #4 singles slot. Perfetti was a 6-2, 6-2 straight set winner over Dutch at #5 singles and Exler defeated Deneen 7-5, 6-3 at the #6 singles position. La Salle earned victories at #2 and #3 singles with Barnhart defeating Leonard, 6-1, 6-1 at the #2 slot and Kutteh defeating Hasan 6-4, 6-1 at the #3 slot. In the afternoon's final match the #1 singles match between Bedway and Perry, Perry took the first set 6-3 before Bedway battled back to win the second set 6-2 and even the match. With darkness approaching they played a 10-point tiebreaker game to determine the match winner. Bedway cruised in the tiebreaker, winning 10-2 to take the match 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 and give the Devils the final point and a 5-4 win.

The Devils are off until Saturday, September 29, 2007 when they host Post University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup on the McNeil Field Tennis Courts.

Golden Rams Hand Devils First Loss of Season (9/20/07)

The West Chester University Golden Rams handed the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's tennis team their first loss of the 2007 campaign 7-2 Wednesday afternoon at West Chester's South Campus Courts.

The loss drops the Devils record to 5-1 overall.

USP's lone points came from the #1 singles slot and the #1 doubles slot. At #1 singles, senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) defeated Maria Kostaris 6-2, 6-3 to improve to 5-1 on the season. Bedway also teamed up with junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) to win the #1 doubles match 8-6 over Kostaris and Rose Conwell. Bedway and Leonard remain undefeated in doubles with a 6-0 record.

In the other doubles matches, the team of freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) lost to Kaylie Edwards and Jen Litchman , 8-1 at #2 doubles while sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) and junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) suffered an 8-0 defeat at #3 doubles to Jessica Toth and Claire Afrassiabian.

In singles, Sebastiani and Exler each suffered their first loss of the season with Sebastiani falling to Teresa Grasso, 6-0, 6-2 at #4 singles and Exler dropping a 6-0, 6-0 decision to Afrassiabian at #6 singles. Leonard took Conwell to three sets at #2 singles before succumbing, 4-6, 6-3, 7-4. In the #5 singles slot, Kara Shumock defeated Perfetti, 6-2, 6-1 while Litchman handed Hasan an 8-5 pro-set loss at #3 singles.

The Devils return to action on Thursday, September 20, 2007 when the take on La Salle University.

Devils Remain Unbeaten with Win over Lightning (9/19/07)

Make it five wins in a row for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's tennis team as they defeated Goldey Beacom College 8-1 Tuesday afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware.

The win improves the Devils record to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in league play, their best five-game record to start a season and completely reversing last year's 0-5 record to open the 2006 campaign.

USP swept the doubles competition to take an early 3-0 lead in the match. USP's #2 doubles team of freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) had an easy match, defeating Dona Roy and Arielle Alford, 8-1. Sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) and junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) won at #3 doubles, defeating Berline Duperoy and Kate Lewis by an identical 8-1 score. USP's #1 doubles team of senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) had a tougher time, but remained undefeated on the season with an 8-6 win over Luisii Souto and Stephanie Bain.

On the singles side, Souto scored the only point for the Lightning in handing Bedway her first singles loss of the season, 6-2, 6-1 in the #1 slot. Leonard recorded a 6-0, 6-0 win over Bain at #2 singles while Hasan was a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Roy in the #3 slot. Sebastiani improved to 5-0 on the season with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Alford at #4 singles and Exler also remains undefeated (5-0) with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lewis at #6 singles. Perfetti rounded out the singles winners with a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Duperoy at #5 singles.

The Devils return to action on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 when they face West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Devils Run Winning Streak to Four (9/15/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia swept all six singles matches as they ran their winning streak to four games with an 8-1 victory over Chestnut Hill College Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

The win improves USP's record to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matches. The Griffins fall to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) continues to dominate opponents as she recorded a 6-3, 6-0 win over Cara Wallin at #1 singles to improve to 4-0 on the season. Junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) also improved to 4-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Karen Guwuriro at #4 singles. Junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) was victorious at #2 singles, defeating Landra Ginder, 6-2, 6-1 while freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) was a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Nicole Aldubayan at #3 singles. Sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) and junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) rounded the singles winners on the afternoon for USP. Exler was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Sarah Doherty at #6 singles, while Perfetti recorded an 8-2 pro-set win over Colleen Reasoner at the #5 slot.

Bedway and Leonard improved to 4-0 on the season in doubles with an 8-2 win over Wallin and Guwuriro at#1 doubles while Perfetti and Exler recorded an 8-3 win over Doherty and Lisa Graeber at#3 doubles. Chestnut Hill's lone point on the afternoon came at #2 doubles as Ginder and Reasoner defeated Hasan and Sebastiani 9-8, winning the tiebreaker 7-4.

The Devils have three matches on the road this week as they will face Goldey Beacom College, West Chester University and LaSalle University on consecutive days starting on Tuesday, September 18, 2007.

Devils Cruise to win over Eastern (9/13/07)

A near sweep of the singles matches helped propel the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia to a 7-2 win over Eastern University this afternoon in Philadelphia.

The Devils remain undefeated with the win, improving to 3-0 on the season. Eastern falls to 0-4.

The Devils started the match by taking two of the three doubles matches. The #1 doubles team of senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) remained perfect on the season with an 8-1 win over Mandy Kuiken and Hannah Tobin. Freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) recorded an 8-3 win over Allison Verdic and Beth Grosella at #2 doubles. Eastern's lone doubles win was an 8-6 triumph over junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) and sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) at #3 doubles, the pair's first doubles loss of the season.

Moving onto the singles competition, Bedway wasted no time in dispatching Kuiken, 6-0, 6-1 at #1 singles. Sebastiani also had a quick match, defeating Grosella 6-1, 6-0 at #4 singles. Leonard was victorious at #2 singles, defeating Tobin, 6-1, 6-2, while Perfetti, playing her first singles match of the season, scored a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jessica Bryan at #5 singles. Exler rounded out the singles winners with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Annalisa Iverson at #6 singles.

The Devils return to action on Saturday, September 15, 2007 when they face Chestnut Hill College in a CACC matchup on their home courts. The match is scheduled to start at noon.

USP Remains Perfect with win over Caldwell (9/8/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's tennis team opened their Central atlantic Collegiate Conference portion of their season on Saturday, defeating Caldwell College, 8-1 to remain undefeated.

The win improves USP's record to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in CACC matches.

Starting the match with doubles, the Devils lost just two games in the three doubles matches as they swept all three contests to take a 3-0 lead going into the singles. Senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.)defeated Maria Kopshina and Brittni Frantellizzi 8-0 at number one doubles while freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) were 8-1 victors over Emilie Skidmore and Patty Messick at #2 doubles. In the number three doubles slot, junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) and sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) also recorded an 8-1 win, defeating Kirsty Leedham and Christina Nabrizny.

In singles competition, Bedway and Sebastiani had quick matches, with Bedway defeating Kopshina at #1 singles and Sebastiani dispatching Messick at #4 singles by identical 6-0, 6-1 scores. Leonard earned her first singles win over the year with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Frantellizzi at #2 singles. In the #3 singles slot, Hasan recorded a 6-1, 7-5 win over Skidmore. Exler rounded out the singles winners with an 8-0 pro-set triumph over Abena George at #6 singles.

USP's next match will be on Thursday, September 13, 2007 at home against Eastern University. The match will commence at 3:30 p.m.

Devils Open Season with a win over Arcadia (9/6/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's tennis team kicked off their 2007-08 campaign in style, defeating host Arcadia University 7-2 Thursday afternoon in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

The Devils swept all three doubles matches while taking four of the six singles matches en route to the win. Starting off the day with doubles, the team of senior Amanda Bedway (Blue Mountain HS/ Orwigsburg, Pa.) and junior Sarah Leonard (West Chester East/West Chester, Pa.) defeated Corey Mazen and Danielle Klim, 9-7 at #1 doubles. Freshman Zahra Hasan(Ward Melville HS/East Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Christina Sebastiani (Paulsboro HS/Sewell, N.J.) earned an 8-2 win over Brittany McCall and Sarah Lapp at #2 doubles. Junior Gabrielle Exler (Timber Creek HS/Sicklerville, N.J.) and sophomore Danielle Perfetti (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Clifton Heights, Pa.) rounded out the doubles victors with a 9-7 win at #3 doubles.

Bedway remained perfect on the day with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Mazen at #1 singles while Hasan scored a 6-2, 6-0 win over McCall at #3 singles. Sebastiani and Exler rounded out the singles winners on the afternoon. Exler was a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Lauren Siebert at #6 singles while Sebastiani was a straight set, 6-2, 6-0 winner over Lapp at #4 singles.

The Devils will play their first conference match on Saturday, September 8, 2007 when they take on Caldwell College in a home contest starting at noon.