Colonials take home-court advantage from Panthers

            DANBURY, Conn. – The Western Connecticut State University women's tennis team secured a first-round home match in the upcoming Little East Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon when it defeated Plymouth State University, 5-4, at Westside Courts.

            The two teams were tied for fourth place in the LEC entering the match, with the winner earning the final home-court slot in the first round of the LEC Tournament, which begins Tuesday.  PSU ends up as the fifth seed, and will travel back to Danbury to face the defending champion Colonials in Tuesday's first-round match.  WestConn completes the regular season at 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the LEC, while PSU finishes at the .500 mark at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference matches.

            The Colonials pulled out the match when Ashley Gorelik (Brookfield, Conn.) won in three sets at No. 4 singles, winning 6-4 in the third after splitting the first two sets in tiebreakers against Panther junior Lydia Smith (Marblehead, Mass.).  WestConn senior Lauren Post (Danbury, Conn.) captured a marathon thriller at number one singles, defeating sophomore Sara Burke (Barrington, R.I.), 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 after she and Alyssa Hoynack (Old Lyme, Conn.) were 8-3 winners at No. 1 doubles.

            Other winners for the Colonials were Hoynack at No. 2 singles, and Gorelick and Alison Mahony (Bristol, Conn.) at No. 2 doubles.

            Freshman Jane Duggan (Saunderstown, R.I.) won twice for the Panthers, capturing victories at No. 6 singles and with junior Laura Donovan (Acton, Mass.) at No. 3 doubles.  Sophomore Rachel Figura (Cheshire, Conn.) and freshman Molly Heartfield (Dorset, Vt.) both rebounded from a first-set loss to take their singles matches at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. 

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