WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's tennis team captured their fourth-consecutive New England Collegiate Conference Championship with an 8-1 victory over Lesley University on Sunday afternoon. The Pride finish the fall season at 13-1, while the Lynx drop to 6-13.
The Pride have won 38-straight matches against NECC opponents, including their last four NECC Tournament appearances, dating back to October 1, 2012.
Regis jumped out to an early 3-0 lead following doubles play as Jewel Medeiros (Rochester, Mass.) and Sara Kanarkiewicz (Peabody, Mass.) defeated Hannah Levensailor (Ayer, Mass.) and Courtney Goggin (Cheshire, Conn.) by the score of 8-1 at No. 3 doubles. Emily Rice (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Katasha Jarvis (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) followed suit with an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles over Frances De Leon (Murrieta, Calif.) and Diana Watson (Acton, Mass.).
At No. 1 doubles, Lesley's Caroline Kiddie (Scituate, Mass.) and Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) took control of their matchup and led 4-1 early, but the Regis duo of Jessie Lord (Fall River, Mass.) and Erica Murphy (Portsmouth, N.H.) rallied back to score seven of the final eight points in the match for an 8-5 victory to give the Pride a 3-0 lead.
In singles play, Amy DiPace (Cambridge, Mass.) captured the fourth point of the day for the Pride with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles over Hannah Levensailor. Katasha Jarvis sealed the fifth and deciding point for Regis with her 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles over Diana Watson. Erica Murphy added a win at No. 2 singles over Frances De Leon by the matching score, while Jewel Medeiros added a 6-1, 6-2 win over Rosie Heller (State College, Pa.).
Caroline Kiddie grabbed Lesley's only point of the day with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles over Jessie Lord.
Emily Rice dropped the opening set of her No. 3 singles matchup with Theresa Pereira, 2-6, but rebounded for a 6-1 win in the second set to force a third game. Rice and Pereira battled back-and-forth until Rice came out on top with the 13-11 victory.
Erica Murphy was named the Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament singles team by Emily Rice. Lesley was represented by Caroline Kiddie and Frances De Leon, and rounding out the All-Tournament Singles Team were Becker College's Livia Smith (Worcester, Mass.) and Bay Path University's Brittany Walsh (North Smithfield, R.I.).
Murphy and her doubles partner Jessie Lord led the All-Tournament Doubles Team selections, with Jewel Medeiros and Sara Kanarkiewicz joining them. Caroline Kiddie and Theresa Pereira were also named to the All-Tournament Doubles Team.
