Women’s Tennis Downed by CCC Frontrunner Nichols
QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's tennis team suffered a 6-2 setback to league-leading Nichols Wednesday afternoon at the ENC Tennis Courts.
The Lions move to 5-3 on the year and 3-3 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the loss. The Bison improve to 9-1 overall and remain undefeated in conference play at 6-0.
The visitors picked up a pair of doubles wins to grab a 2-1 edge.
Sharon Biondi (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and Lindsey Steelman (Darlington, Md.) collected the home team's lone victory in doubles play, downing Megan Nathanson and Rachel McDonald 9-7 at the No. 2 spot.
Adele Duval (Reading, Calif.) and Emily Ruttkowski (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany) dropped an 8-3 decision to Isabelle Leonardi and Amarie Settiwongse at the top doubles position.
Veronica Jimenez (Lynn, Mass.) and Alecia Tubbs (Rochester, N.Y.) absorbed an 8-2 loss at the third slot to Lindsey Kaplan and Juliana Herrera.
Nichols claimed four singles victories to earn its sixth conference win in a row.
Ruttkowski topped Leonardi at the No. 2 position 6-2, 6-3 to post Eastern Nazarene's lone singles win.
Biondi fell to Settiwongse at the top spot 6-0, 6-4 while Duval endured a straight-sets loss at the third position to Nathanson.
Jimenez endured a 6-1, 6-0 setback at the No. 5 slot to Herrera and Tubbs fell 8-1 in a pro-set at the sixth spot.
In the No. 4 singles match, Steelman was on the verge of victory as the match was halted due to darkness. The senior edged Kaplan in a tiebreaker to capture the first set and sported a narrow 5-4 lead in the second.
Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene steps out of conference to host Becker September 28.