West Haven, Conn. – The Le Moyne College women's tennis team closed out its Northeast-10 Conference slate with a 4-3 victory over the University of New Haven on Sunday afternoon at the New Haven Tennis Courts.
The Dolphins took the lead in the match by capturing the point in the doubles competition. Sophomore
Isabella Barona (Manta, Ecuador/Talentos de Manta) and junior
Fiona Pepper (Challapampa, Peru/Colegio Anglo Americano Prescott) registered a 6-4 win at the second position over Gaayatri Shankar and Lucia Placidi to improve to 4-1 as a duo. Freshmen
Alicia Alvarez (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset) and
Paula Casares (A Coruna, Spain/Colegio Maristas Cristo Rey) completed NE10 play 7-0 with a 6-3 victory over Alexa Orlando and Kacie Banks at the third spot. Karim Carreras and Valentinna Ferrarini earned a 6-4 win for the Chargers at the first position over senior
Francesca Lilliegren (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Colegio Alemán Humboldt Guayaquil) and freshman
Stella Simeonova (Sofia, Bulgaria/National Gymnasium of Mathematics and Natural Sciences).
The teams split the singles competition to give the match to the Dolphins. Casares ran her dual-match record to 10-0, including 7-0 in NE10 action, by rallying for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-4) victory at the fourth position over Banks. Lilliegren was victorious at the fifth spot over Katherine MacPhail, 6-4, 6-3. Pepper improved to 10-1 in dual matches and 7-1 in NE10 play with a 6-2, 6-3 win at the sixth position over Orlando. For the Chargers, Ferrarini rallied to defeat Simeonova at the top spot, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Carreras recorded back-to-back scores of 6-2 to down Barona at the second position. Shankar was a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 winner at the third spot over Alvarez.
Le Moyne (7-4, 5-3 NE10) closes out the regular season on Sunday at Division I-foe and former NE10 rival Merrimack College. Le Moyne's NE10 finale scheduled for Saturday against American International College has been canceled due to the Yellow Jackets being unable to meet the minimum number of competitors required for a match.