Hall of Fame
The 2005 women’s tennis team becomes the seventh team to be recognized by the DeSales University Hall of Fame Committee as the first women’s tennis team to win an MAC Freedom Championship.
The Bulldogs finished the 2005 season with a 12-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the MAC Freedom. DSU made the MAC Freedom postseason as the #2 seed and defeated Wilkes University, 8-1; in the MAC Freedom Tournament semifinals setting up a rematch with top seeded the University of Scranton in the championship match.
DeSales suffered one of its two losses that season during the regular season to Scranton, 6-3 just six days prior to the championship match rematch. In the regular season match-up Scranton won two of three doubles matches and four of the six singles matches.
In the rematch the Bulldogs took an early 2-1 lead when sophomores Courtney McClurkin and Mary Kate McElvaney won at #2 doubles and junior Colleen Solomon and freshman Caitlin Gerlach avenged a loss just six days earlier at #3 doubles to win, 8-4.
Just as in the regular season match-up senior Laura LeVan and McClurkin were winners at the #1 and #2 singles spots, while Scranton took the wins at the #3, #4, and #5 spots. The match came down to the #6 singles spot with the score tied at four.
Gerlach lost the first set, 6-4, but rallied back to win the second set, 7-6 (11-9), setting up a decisive third set in which she took 6-3 to give DeSales the 5-4 win and its first-ever title. Gerlach was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player earning two points, including the decisive team point in the win.
LeVan was named the MAC Freedom Player of the Year following the season, while also being named to the MAC-Freedom First-Team with McClurkin. Sophomore Liz Guidon and McElvaney were each named to the MAC-Freedom Second-Team. LeVan finished the year being named the Dr. John Compardo Female Athlete of the Year.
In the MASCAC Individual Championship Tournament DSU also had success as LeVan won the #1 singles title, McClurking advanced into the semifinals at #2 singles, McElvaney finished as the runner-up at #4 singles, LeVan and Guidon won the #1 doubles title, and McClurkin and McElvaney won the #2 doubles title.
Members of the team included the lone senior LeVan, the lone junior Solomon, the sophomore trio of Guidon, McClurkin, and McElvaney, and two freshmen Gerlach and Jess Ruhl.
