PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The fifth seeded Worcester State University women's tennis team upset the fourth seeded Plymouth State University by a score of 5-2 in a chilly Tuesday afternoon Little East Conference (LEC) first round contest held at the Holderness School Courts.
THE BASICS
October 17, 2017
Holderness School Courts
Score: Worcester State 5, Plymouth State 2
Records: Worcester State (9-5) | Plymouth State (10-5)
THE MATCH
Worcester State's Alexis Silk (Greenfield, Mass.) and Emma Collings (Marion, Mass.) kicked off the afternoon with an 8-3 doubles win over Plymouth State's Maggie McCarthy (Marion, Mass.) and Megan Wheeler (Manchester, N.H.). "Emma owned the net while Lex kept things steady and strategically placed," mentioned head coach Courteney Blais.
Shortly after that, Worcester State's Nathalie Khafaga (Auburn, Mass.) and Dominique Alves (Ludlow, Mass.) locked in Worcester State's second win decisively. Rachel Green (Worcester, Mass.) and Marisa Lombardi (Ludlow, Mass.) fought hard to tie up the score after being down 6-3, but came up short to Jenna Sundquist (Monument Beach, Mass.) and Chloe Knapp (Jamestown, N.Y.) in the tiebreaker 9-8 (7-4).
Ahead 2-1 heading into singles play, Alves added to the Lancers' win column with a dominating 6-0, 6-2 decision over Plymouth's Kerstin Venincasa (Sutton, Mass.). Coach Blais mentioned that Khafaga was in the zone and overpowered and outworked her opponent for the team's fourth win at No. 2 singles.
Senior captains Green and Silk were neck-in-neck in the race for the teams' fifth and final win of the day. Silk was on the cusp of closing out her match at 5-1 in the second set, but Green finished first with an extremely clean and consistent match, defeating Sundquist 6-3, 6-1, clinching the match.
Plymouth's sole win was at No. 6 singles as Knapp defeated Monika Mularski (Auburn, Mass.) 6-2, 6-3.
COACHES CORNER
Blais commented on the win, "I am extremely proud of how these girls showed up to compete and win today. We are looking forward to semifinals on Thursday!"
UP NEXT
The Lancers head to Providence, R.I. to square up against No. 1 Rhode Island College on Thursday (Oct. 19) in the semifinal round.
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