The 14th installment of the Cissie Leary Memorial Invitational was a smashing success for Penn.
In Sunday’s final round of the Quakers’ only home meet of the fall season, freshman standout Connie Hsu and senior Alexa Ely earned the tournament’s doubles championship. And, after a short respite, Hsu earned her second collegiate singles championship.
The Penn victories were a fitting tribute to former Penn coach Cissie Leary, who led the Quakers women’s tennis team to 16 winning seasons before dying in 1996 at age 42.
The duo of Hsu and Ely faced tough competition throughout the tournament, but the doubles title match against Binghamton’s Jillian Santos and Yulia Smilnova was particularly contentious.
Penn junior Daniela DePaoli and rookie Stephanie Do also made a good run in doubles, reaching quarterfinals before falling to Santos and Smilnova.
After a number of tough volleys, Hsu — ranked the No. 4 freshman by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association — sealed the 8-6 victory with an ace.
In singles, Hsu defeated Maryland freshman Ana Belzunce 6-3 in the first set before clinching the second set on another ace.
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