Sept. 25, 2006

LEWISBUGH, Pa - Today, Tania Varela (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy) was named Damon's Bison Athlete of the week after winning her first career Flight championships at the Quinnipiac Invitational in Hamden, Conn. The freshman went a perfect 8-0 combined winning the Flight B singles and the Flight A doubles with sophomore teammate Ashley Globerman (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown).

Varela started the invitational with a straight-set victory over Army's Kristen Beehler, 6-2, 6-3. In the quarterfinal match, she defeated Pascaline Cette of UMBC, 7-6(4), 6-3, and dropped UConn's Kelley LoRusso in a three-set tiebreaker, 4-6, 7-5, (10-5). In the Flight B finals, the freshman stifled Amanda El-Tobgy of Seton Hall in a straight-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6(1) to win her first singles title.

The duo of Varela and Globerman defeated UMBC'c Barbara Couto and Joy Adewumi, 8-5 in the first round and dropped the No. 1 seeded pair of Gabby Pasternak and Mary Wilson from Quinnipiac, 9-7. In the semifinals, doubles tandem beat Seton Hall's Amanda El-Togby and Iva Gyugina, 8-1. The pair completed the doubles sweep by defeating Alice Chen and Pascaline Cette of UMBC, 8-1.

Varela improved to 5-2 in singles and while 6-1 in doubles. With Globerman as her partner, the duo is undefeated at 6-0, which leads the team.

You can catch Varela and the Bison will be back in action this Friday, Sept. 29, when they host the Bucknell Invitational starting at 3 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa.