EMMANUEL FALLS TO EMERSON IN 5-4 HEARTBREAKER
Sept. 30, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - In a match lasting close to four hours, the Emmanuel College Women's Tennis Team was edged, 5-4, by the visiting Lions of Emerson College. This was the first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss for the Saints, who entered the match at 3-0 in the GNAC and rolling on a seven-match win streak. With the win over Emmanuel, Emerson improved to 4-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. The Saints are now 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.
The lengthy match proved to be a nail-biter throughout. The two teams competed in singles action first, resulting in three wins going to each side. With the match locked at 3-3, the Lions and Saints entered doubles play. The 2nd doubles win went to Emmanuel. Emerson picked up the win in 3rd doubles, bringing the match score to another tie at 4-4. The intense match at 1st doubles would prove to determine the victors in the cross-town rivalry. The tension mounted as the two top players from each team battled to a 7-7 tie. The Saints held opportunities for victory with match point six different times, before the Lions rallied to ultimately take the win. In a re-match of last season's GNAC quarterfinal match, Emerson came away with the 5-4 victory over Emmanuel.
Emmanuel freshman Taylor Dey (Woodbridge, Conn.) notched the first win of the night for the Saints, defeating Emerson's senior Kayleigh Holt (Somerset, Mass.), 7-6 and 6-4, in 1st singles. Both players entered the match undefeated in singles play and both had previously been honored by the conference, being selected GNAC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
Emerson gained a win at second singles, when junior Laura Miley (Cranston, R.I.) defeated Emmanuel's senior co-captain Nory Hayes (Newport, R.I.), 6-4 and 6-1. The Saints were victorious at 3rd singles courtesy of Megan Harrington's (Leicester, Mass.) 6-1, 6-0 win over Chrissy Laboissonniere (Pawtucket, R.I.). Emerson picked up a win at 4th singles, when sophomore Zara Niefield (Cheltenham, PA) handed Emmanuel rookie Jenna Reid (Lincoln, R.I.) her first loss of the season. Reid dropped the hard-fought decision, 6-3 and 7-6.
The two teams continued to alternate wins, splitting the decisions at 5th and 6th singles. Emmanuel junior Alexandra Shakra (Bedford, N.H.) notched a three-set win over Emerson's Kelly McCarthy (Saugus, Mass.) at 5th singles, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. A final win for the Lions at 6th singles tied the match at 3-3. Emerson's freshman Gina Varamo (Washington, N.J.) topped Emmanuel's junior captain Catherine Dunphy (Duxbury, Mass.), 6-1 and 6-2.
Doubles action was met with increasing intensity, as the rivals continued to battle and the temperature continued to drop. Varamo and Eliza Hamilton (Bethesda, Md.) teamed up for an 8-6 Emerson win over the Emmanuel junior class tandem of Taylor Kelly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Brianna Murphy (Wilbraham, Mass.) at 3rd doubles. Emmanuel earned an 8-2 win at 2nd doubles, when Dunphy and Harrington knocked off McCarthy and Kailey Smith (Madison, Maine). The heated 1st doubles match went to Emerson, when Holt and Miley topped Dey and Hayes, 9-7.
The Lions will play again on Saturday (10/1) at Simmons College in an 11:00am start. Emmanuel will host Johnson State College in non-conference action at 2:30pm. Both of these matches will be played on the Winsor School Tennis Courts.