University of Albany’s Aubrey Brooks and Sarah Iannone Grab Flight B Doubles Title at Marist Invitational - UAlbany Sports 2011

Poughkeepsie, N.Y. -- Aubrey Brooks and Sarah Iannone captured the Flight B doubles title to highlight the University at Albany's women's tennis team's performance at the Marist Invitational. The Great Danes' doubles tandem defeated Providence's Taylor Ahlborn and Caitlyn Foley in the finals by a score of 8-6 in a pro set.

After receiving a bye in the first round, Brooks and Iannone won their first match by upending St. Peter's Adina Ungurean-Halagian and Linnea Enoh-Jansson, 9-7. UAlbany's doubles squads of Livia Gherman and Cheryl Kukkonen and Rachel Drake and Kirsten Scott all were able to win their first-round matchups in Flight A and Flight C, respectively. Drake and Scott got past Marist's Kayla O'Donovan/Joanna Macaluso, 8-3, in the semifinals, before falling to Providence's Elisabetta Dewitt/Ali Carnall, 9-8 (7-2), in the finals. In the Flight A doubles, Gherman/Kukkonen won their first match versus a St. Peter's team, 8-0 on Saturday, before losing to Providence's Marisela Aviles/Maria Clara Bernardez, 8-0.

In the four singles classifications, Drake was the only Great Dane to move past the second round with a win in Flight D over St. Peter's Jessica Nowogrodski, 6-2, 6-2. Drake then lost in straight sets to Providence's Betta Dewitt in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-0.

"This was the first real singles competition we've played this fall and I thought we competed well," said UAlbany coach Gordon Graham, who is in his first season. "Everyone played well in patches, which is good to see. We just have to keep working to sustain these higher levels of play longer. Our doubles was a little ahead of our singles, which makes sense since we played mostly doubles at the Eastern Championships. It was great to see Rachel (Drake) win her main draw match. She's been working hard."

The Great Danes prepare for their rescheduled dual match vs. Fairleigh Dickinson at the FDU Tennis Courts in Teaneck, N.J., a 4:00 p.m. start on Friday, Oct. 14.