RAMS NUDGE SAINTS, 5-4, IN LOCAL GNAC TENNIS BATTLE
Sept. 22, 2010
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Women's Tennis Team dropped a tough 5-4 decision to cross-town Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Suffolk University on Wednesday night. The two teams endured the lengthy five-hour match, hosted by Suffolk and played on the four indoor courts at Buckingham Browne and Nichols in Cambridge, Mass. Suffolk won two doubles matches and three of the six singles matches to come away with the one-point win.
The Emmanuel tandem of Kate Biffinger (Avon, Conn.) and Jenna Reid (Lincoln, R.I.) accounted for the Saints' only doubles win of the night. The duo easily defeated Suffolk's Lizzy Aikins and Stacey Politis, 8-2, at third doubles.
Senior captain Megan Harrington (Leicester, Mass.) and freshman Jenny Konecnik (Sparta, N.J.) dropped a tough 7-9 tiebreaker at second doubles, while sophomore Taylor Dey (Woodbridge, Conn.) and freshman Amanda Woznicki (Bristol, Conn.) fell at first doubles, 4-8.
Dey went on to pick up a solid straight-set win at No. 1 singles, defeating Alex Hernandez, 6-4, 6-2. Harrington fell to Lauren Cameron, 1-6, 1-6, at No. 2 singles, while Reid lost to Jane Skorobogatova at No. 3 singles, 2-6, 3-6.
With the match at 4-2 in favor of Suffolk, Emmanuel was able to squeeze out a hard-fought win at No. 5 singles, when senior Alexandra Shakra (Bedford, N.H.) defeated Rebecca Copeland, 7-5, 6-2. The Rams notched a win at No. 6 singles, when Georgia Ward topped Emily Resnevic (Manville, R.I.), 4-6, 4-6, to bring the match to 5-3 in favor of the hosts.
Despite Suffolk recording its fifth and the deciding point of the night, the Saints continued to battle. Konecnik faced another tiebreak situation in No. 4 singles. The rookie was defeated in the opening set, 4-6, and then rebounded for a 6-2 win over Suffolk's Kelly Conrad in the second set. Konecnik then was down four match points and rallied to pull out an incredible 3rd set 7-6 tiebreaker win, giving Emmanuel its 4th point of the night.
The match loss is the third straight for the Saints, who drop to 2-3 on the season and 1-2 in GNAC play. Emmanuel will host Pine Manor College on Saturday afternoon in a conference match slated to begin at 1pm.