CAYCE, S.C.—Senior Annalise Klopfer (Palm Harbor, Fla.) and freshman Valieriia Kornieva (Dnipro, Ukraine) were each leading their singles matches on Thursday morning when the team result was clinched in a 4-0 loss by #8 seed Villanova (4-10) against #9 seed Connecticut (10-11) in the first round of the 2022 BIG EAST Tennis Championship Presented by JEEP at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center.
 
Klopfer entered the conference tournament having won eight consecutive decisions at No. 1 singles and she had split her first two sets against Huskies senior Julieanne Bou in Thursday's match when play was halted. Klopfer won the first set, 7-5, before Bou took the second set by a 6-3 margin. They had not begun play in a decisive third set. Klopfer finishes the season with an 11-1 record at the top of the Wildcats lineup and is 18-6 overall in singles matches during the past two years.
 
In the No. 4 singles match, Kornieva led Connecticut junior Caroline Cook by a 7-5, 3-3 count. Kornieva had defeated Cook in straight sets earlier this month when the teams played a regular season match in Villanova's home finale on April 10. She ends her first collegiate season ranked third on the roster with five dual wins, including at least one victory in the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 lineup spots during the year.
 
The three singles matches to be completed on Thursday came at the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 spots, while the Huskies began the match by claiming the doubles point with wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 matches. Kornieva and senior Sabina Grigorian (Atlanta, Ga.) fell to Aleksandra Karamyshev at No. 2 doubles by a 6-1 margin; junior Caitlin Fisher (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore Bella Steffen (Cary, N.C.) were defeated in a 6-4 decision by Cook and Denise Lai in the No. 3 doubles match.
 
In the singles matches, Brogan fell to Karamyshev (6-3, 6-2) in the No. 2 spot. She came on strong over the second half of the season and posted wins in the No. 2 lineup spot against Seton Hall, Saint Joseph's and Temple over the past few weeks. Fisher was defeated by Leonie Hoppe (6-4, 6-1) at No. 3 singles and junior Amanda Rivera-Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) fell to Doga Selen Takunyaci (7-5, 6-4) at No. 6 singles.