Box ScoreNEWPORT, R.I. – Freshman
Daniela Saldarriaga (Medellin, Colombia) won both her singles and doubles matches as the Nichols College women's tennis team defeated Salve Regina 9-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Sunday afternoon at the Leroy Avenue Courts.
The win marks the seventh consecutive time the Bison have defeated the Seahawks after dropping their first 14 matches against the conference rival.
Nichols (12-2, 7-1 CCC) proved it meant business on the day in the doubles matches. Freshmen
Alanna Judd (Westborough, Mass.) and
Lauren Candia (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) had no trouble in the top flight against sophomore Emma Gruber (New Canaan, Conn.) and senior Hayley Maxwell (Pound Ridge, N.Y.), winning 8-1.
Senior captain
Lindsay Benoit (Holden, Mass.) and sophomore
Cristina Szepanski (Windsor Locks, Conn.) took down seniors Elizabeth DiFilippo (West Chester, Pa.) and Meg Olson (Colchester, Vt.) 8-1 at No. 2 doubles.
At No. 3 doubles, Saldarriaga and freshman
Ashley Dallaire (East Bridgewater, Mass.) blanked sophomore Taylor Amendola (Westbrook, Conn.) and freshman Courtney Bailey (North Dartmouth, Mass.) 8-0 to complete the sweep of doubles for the Bison.
Nichols continued its success in the singles matches, winning in straight sets in each of the matches. Judd knocked off the reigning CCC Player of the Week, Gruber, 6-1, 6-0 in the top flight while at No. 2 singles, Szepanski won by the same score over DiFilippo.
Fresh off of setting the career singles-wins mark for the Bison, Benoit defeated Amendola 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.
At No. 4 singles, Candia defeated Bailey 6-1, 6-3. Dallaire got the best of junior Isabelle Weatherby (Newport, R.I.) 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5 singles while Saldarriaga rounded out the afternoon, winning the No. 6 singles slot 6-2, 6-1 against junior Julie Grant (Warwick, R.I.).
The Bison will host a CCC Semifinal on Thursday at a time and against an opponent to be announced. The Seahawks (4-4, 4-4 CCC) will be the fifth seed on the road at fourth-seeded Gordon College on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the opener of the conference playoffs.
