By Sarah Hurst

Correspondent

Chowan University’s Women’s tennis team recently secured its first CIAA Championship in school history. The conference tournament was hosted at Virginia State University.

It was a defining moment for the Lady Hawks, including a native of Suffolk who had a hand in achieving the milestone. The women’s toughest opponents were the Virginia State Lady Trojans, whom they faced in the finals.

Hawks started the doubles competition full of confidence and built a 3-0 lead heading into singles. A consequently strong performance in singles gave the Lady Hawks the two wins they needed to claim the title.

“The wait was nerve-wracking to see who would win,” said Chowan doubles player Jennifer Humphrey, who played high-school tennis at King’s Fork High School. “When the very last match ended, we rushed the court in celebration. It was an exhilarating experience.”

Humphrey and her doubles partner Jessica De Backre contributed to the team’s outstanding performance in the conference tournament by winning all their doubles matches.

“My performance in the tournament was better than in the regular season,” Humphrey said. “Knowing we had a chance to win the championship, when we had been runner-ups last year, made us push harder. We wanted to win.”

She and DeBackre won their final doubles match with a convincing 8-4 decision.

Coach Christian Stambaugh was elated by the team’s achievement.

“Finally,” he said. “We did it. I became the tennis coach at Chowan University in 2009. It took five seasons to win. So I was very happy and relieved.”

His hard work has paid off. Along with the championship title, Stambaugh received the CIAA tennis Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year Award.

By winning the conference, the women’s tennis team received an automatic bid to the Atlantic Regional Tournament in Indiana, Pa. This is the first time Chowan qualified to play in the regional tournament.

Coach Stambaugh’s thoughts on regionals were only positive.

“No one knows much about Chowan University,” he said. “Because we are the underdog, there is no pressure. We are going to break through and surprise them.”

The Lady Hawks go back into action today at 11 a.m. as they take on the Crimson Hawks of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.