New Paltz, NY--- The State University of New York at New Paltz defeated its Catskill Cup rival, SUNY Oneonta, to place the Hawks tied with SUNY Geneseo for the top seed in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC).
 
"We played extremely well today against a very tough and determined Oneonta team. I am very pleased for the program," said SUNY New Paltz coach Rob Bruley.  "We are finishing off in two weeks time where we go to conference pool play and everything is in our hands.  We are very excited about where we are at the moment."
 
 The Hawks swept doubles play with Trinity Chow and Laura Koob opening up the day with an 8-0 win at first doubles over Mya Lipscomb and Olivia Fraser. Onalee Batcheller and Alexandra Dratch then earned an 8-2 victory at second singles, while Victoria Zezula and Jenna Grandville battled for an exciting, 8-6 triumph at third doubles.
 
"Sweeping doubles today gave us huge confidence, because it gives us a 3-0 lead," Chow said. "That just gave us all confidence that if we just play our games in singles and try to have fun." 
 Alex Chimenti took a 6-0, 6-1 win in sixth singles with Chow finishing not long after at first singles after earning a 6-0, 6-0 victory to clinch the victory for SUNY New Paltz. The Hawks continued to roll, as Batcheller beat Rebecca Macdonald, 6-2, 6-1 before Zezula defeated the Red Dragons' Madeline Carswell at fifth and third singles, respectively. Koob then finished with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Fraser at second singles.
 
SUNY New Paltz improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in SUNYAC with the win, while Oneonta dropped its first match of the year and falls to 7-1 overall, suffering its first conference loss.
 
"It felt really good to beat SUNY Oneonta today," Chow said. "Them being our rivals last year it was a huge battle, so coming into today we were going 100 percent in practice and thankfully we put 100 percent in the matches and we came out to win. It felt really good. That just shows that we can still win this like last year."
 
The Hawks' next matchup is against SUNY Geneseo in Binghamton on Friday where they will look to clinch the top seed. Along with the Knights, SUNY New Paltz will also take on Fredonia State and The College at Brockport. That weekend will determine where the Hawks will be seeded, as they look to repeat as SUNYAC champions.

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