PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's tennis team enters its third-straight Skyline Conference Championship Tournament on Wednesday as the seconded-seeded Valiants host No. 3 Saint Joseph's Long Island in the semifinals, two years removed from their title clash in 2023.
  How We Got Here
After making back-to-back runs to the Skyline Finals last year and capturing the title in 2023, the Valiants continued to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the Skyline Conference. Manhattanville went 8-2 during the regular season and posted a 6-1 mark in conference play, with the lone blemish coming against eventually top-seeded Farmingdale in a tightly-contested 4-3 loss on Long Island.

Following the loss, the Valiants won four-straight matches to close out the regular season, including three conference wins in four days last week against Saint Joseph's Long Island, Mount Saint Mary and Sarah Lawrence. The three wins secured Manhattanvile the No. 2 seed, leading to Wednesday's tilt at home against the Golden Eagles.

Manhattanville opened the year just as hot as they closed it, matching the best start in program history by winning the first four matches of the season. The Valiants' top four of Adrianna Filippelli (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd), Amaya Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services), Addison Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services) and Jenifer Lalman (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) have shined all season long, excelling in whichever flight they have taken the court for.

On the other side, Saint Joseph's carries a 7-2 overall record, going 5-2 in conference play. The Golden Eagles' two losses came at the hands of Farmingdale and Manhattanville, but ended the season with a 6-1 win over Purchase on Saturday.

Last Time Out
The teams met in Patchogue last week to essentially determine the holder of the No. 2 seed. Manhattanville won the clash by a final of 6-1, sweeping all three doubles flights and taking five of the six singles draws.

Amaya Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services) and Lalman won 6-4 in No. 1s over Natalie Kopala and Victoria Corcoran, while Filippelli / Addison Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services)e bested Amanda Andree / Allison Goodyear 6-1 in No. 2s and Maria Gutierrez (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) / Biance Reyna toppling Rose Ruopoli / Morgan Wins 6-2 in 3s.

The Valiants went on to win all top five singles flights, led by Filippelli in No. 1s over Kopala, 6-0, 6-3. The Ortiz' shined on No. 2 and 3, with Amaya besting Goodyear 6-0, 6-1 and Addison blanking Corcoran 6-0, 6-0. Lalman remained perfect in singles with her 6-2, 6-2 win over Andree on No. 4s, while Gutierrez took down wins 6-0, 7-5 in the No. 5 tilt. The Golden Eagles did capture the point in No. 6s, with Ruopoli beating Reyna 6-4, 7-5.

Tournament History
For Manhattanville, Wednesday marks a third-straight postseason appearance after going 0-8 in 2022. The Valiants flipped the script in 2023, winning the Skyline Championship as the No. 3 seed and went on to secure the No. 1 seed in 2024 before falling to No. 2 Farmingdale in the finals.

Saint Joseph's missed the tournament last year after going 2-4 in conference play, the team's first year not in the postseason since 2013. The Golden Eagles were the top seed in the 2023 tournament, advancing to the finals where they were undone by the Valiants.

In the 2023 finals, Manhattanville bested SJLI 5-4. Of that year's championship competitors, only Addison Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./High School for Health Professions and Human Services) remains on the active Valiant roster ahead of this week's tournament. She played crucial roles, winning No. 2 Doubles and taking the deciding point in No. 3 singles, defeating Goodyear 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 to win Manhattanville's first conference crown since 2006.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Filippelli: 8-2 Singles, 10-0 Doubles
• Ad. Ortiz: 9-1 Singles, 9-1 Doubles
• Am. Ortiz: 8-1 Singles, 8-1 Doubles
• Lalman: 10-0 Singles, 7-3 Doubles

Saint Joseph's Long Island

• Andree: 7-2 Singles, 7-2 Doubles
• Kopala: 7-2 Singles, 7-2 Doubles
• Goodyear: 7-2 Singles, 7-2 Doubles,
• Ruopoli: 7-2 Singles, 5-4 Doubles

History

• All-Time Record vs Saint Joseph's Long Island: 15-4
• Streak: Manhattanville W3
• Series Record at Manhattanville: 7-2
• Last Five Meetings (Home team listed second):
  • 10/15/25: Manhattanville 6, SJLI 1
  • 10/19/24: SJLI 1, Manhattanville 6
  • 10/26/23: Manhattanville 5, SJLI 4 (Skyline Championship Finals)
  • 10/15/23: Manhattanville 2, SJLI 7
  • 9/16/22: SJLI 9, Manhattanville 0

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