Women’s Tennis Downed at Nichols in CCC Semifinals, 5-1
DUDLEY, Mass.- The fifth-seeded Eastern Nazarene College women's tennis team suffered a 5-1 setback at top-seeded Nichols in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament semifinals Tuesday afternoon.
The Lions finish the fall with a 10-6 overall record while the Bison improve to 13-2 and advance to the CCC Tournament Championship for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.
The home team grabbed a 2-1 lead with a pair of doubles victories.
Sharon Biondi (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and Lindsey Steelman (Darlington, Md.) notched the visitors' lone doubles win, prevailing 8-5 at the No. 2 position over Megan Nathanson and Ashley Dallaire.
Adele Duval (Reading, Calif.) and Emily Ruttkowski (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany) dropped an 8-5 decision at the top spot to Amarie Settiwongse and Isabelle Leonardi.
Jordan Cressman (Bowmanstown, Pa.) and Veronica Jimenez (Lynn, Mass.) fell 8-0 at the No. 3 slot to Alanna Judd and Lindsey Kaplan.
Nichols earned three victories in singles action to clinch the match and advance to its second-consecutive CCC Championship.
Ruttkowski absorbed a 6-1, 6-1 loss at the No. 2 position to Judd. Duval suffered a 6-0, 6-0 setback at the No. 3 spot to Nathanson. Cressman fell at the fifth slot 6-1, 6-0 to Juliana Herrera.
When the match was decided, Biondi trailed 4-3 in the second set after dropping the first set at the No. 1 position. Steelman claimed the first set 6-4 at the No. 3 spot and held a 1-0 edge in the second. Jimenez trailed 5-0 in the second set and fell 6-0 in the opening frame at the sixth slot.