CAYCE, S.C.—In a rematch of a 2019 semifinal contest #3 seed Villanova (7-4) faced #2 seed DePaul (11-4) and was eliminated from the 2021 BIG EAST Tennis Championships Presented by Jeep in a 4-1 decision that concluded at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center on Sunday afternoon. The match began on Saturday morning but was suspended due to heavy rain and resumed at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday after a delay of more than 24 hours. Junior Annalise Klopfer (Palm Harbor, Fla.) tallied the lone point for the Wildcats with a win in straight sets at No. 1 singles.
 
The match was closely contested despite the 4-1 score as Villanova won five singles sets and had a chance to win the No. 3 and No. 4 singles matches which were halted when the team outcome was decided. Senior Lexi DeNucci (Glastonbury, Conn.) was leading in the third set of her match in the No. 3 spot and junior Emily Strande (Centennial, Colo.) was even at one set apiece in her match in the No. 4 lineup spot. The higher-seeded Blue Demons had captured the doubles point in action on Saturday morning to take a 1-0 lead and they closed out the match with wins in the No. 5, No. 6 and No. 2 singles matches.
 
Klopfer took down DePaul graduate student Aspasia Avgeri who entered the day with an 11-2 record on the year. She led the first set 5-1 when play was suspended on Saturday and quickly closed out that set on Sunday morning to take the lead in the match. Avgeri led 3-1 in the second set before Klopfer responded and won five of the final six games in the match. A transfer from Navy who was a newcomer on the Wildcats roster this season, Klopfer played exclusively in the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles spots this season and finished the year 6-4 in singles and 9-2 in doubles matches.
 
In the No. 3 singles match DeNucci was swept in the first set 6-0 on Saturday before coming back in a big way on Sunday to take the second set 6-1 and lead the deciding third set 2-1 over Lenka Antonijevic. Villanova also got strong play from Strande in her No. 4 singles match against Yuliya Kizelbasheva. Strande won the first set 6-3 and lost the second set by the same score. The third set had not yet started when the match wrapped up.
 
Senior Claudia Althans (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) fell in a 6-2, 6-4 match to Alina Kuzmenkova at No. 2 singles and the Blue Demons also claimed victories in the fifth and sixth singles matches. Sophomore Caitlin Fisher (Cincinnati, Ohio) fell to Marija Jovicic in the No. 5 spot (6-1, 6-4) while freshman Bella Steffen (Cary, N.C.) was defeated by Madelyn Yergler (6-2, 6-3) in the No. 6 match.
 
In the doubles matches on Saturday, DePaul secured the first point of the match with wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 matches. Antonijevic and Kuzmenkova defeated Klopfer and DeNucci by a 6-0 count in the top doubles spot while junior Sabina Grigorian (Atlanta, Ga.) and freshman Rose Kenny (Charlotte, N.C.) fell to Avgeri and Yergler in a 6-2 decision in the No. 3 doubles match. Althans and Strande were playing a No. 2 doubles match against Jovicic and Kizelbasheva and trailed 4-3 in a match that was not completed.
 
The abbreviated season was a successful one for the Wildcats, who went 34-21 (.618) in singles matches and 19-9 (.679) in doubles matches on the year. Villanova has made great strides in recent seasons with a deep and experienced lineup. The match against the Blue Demons marked the second straight conference tournament in which the Wildcats reached the semifinal round. Althans and DeNucci were the veteran leaders of the Villanova team and the pair combined have combined for 178 victories during their careers. Althans is 46-27 in singles and 51-20 in doubles, while DeNucci has a record of 37-32 in singles and 44-29 in doubles.