WESTON, Mass. - Sophomore Carly Scanlon (Canton, Mass.) won at No. 3 singles with the match even at 4-4 on Saturday afternoon as the Regis (Mass.) women's tennis team defeated Simmons College 5-4 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at the Regis Tennis Center.
With the win, the Pride improves to 3-0 in conference play and 4-1 overall. The Sharks drop their first GNAC match of the season, falling to 2-1 in conference and 6-4 overall.
The singles win was not Scanlon's only dramatic finish of the day, as she and partner Carly Donovan (Harwich, Mass.) went the distance at No. 2 doubles to secure a 2-1 lead for the Pride entering singles. Scanlon and Donovan won 9-7 over Simmons's Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam) and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.), while Ariana McCormack (Worcester, Mass.) and Katasha Jarvis (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) defeated Jessica Schroedl (Staatsburg, N.Y.) and Olivia Lakes (Dorchester, Mass.) 8-2 at No. 1 doubles to give the Pride the advantage. No. 3 doubles went to the Sharks, where Paola Rios (Miami, Fla.) and Celia Speth (Deerfield, Mass.) defeated the Pride's Gracie Jarest (Wrentham, Mass.) and Sara Kanarkiewicz (Peabody, Mass.) 8-2.
In singles play, the Pride jumped out to a 4-2 lead thanks to a win on Court 4 from McCormack, who defeated junior Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine) 6-4, 6-0 to push the Sharks to the brink. Each of the three remaining matches would require third and deciding sets. Rios got the ball rolling for the Sharks, coming from behind to beat the Pride's Amy DiPace (Cambridge, Mass.) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5 singles to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Tight battles continued to rage on at Courts 2 and 3, and it was the Sharks who would get the next point to level it up. At No. 2, Nguyen defeated Jarvis 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, leaving the outcome of the match lying with Scanlon and Johnson at No. 3. Up 5-4 in the third set, Scanlon would break serve to clinch the match and secure a win for the Pride for the second time in as many matches. The final set scores were 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Next up for the Pride, they'll face another tough test as they host Johnson & Wales in GNAC action on Wednesday afternoon at the Regis Tennis Center. The Sharks will be back in action the same day, traveling to Mount Ida for a 3:30 p.m. start.
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