Burke wins twice for Panthers in LEC setback

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore Hannah Schulze (Chelmsford, Mass.) and junior Allison Furtado (Fairhaven, Mass.) won two matches each Saturday afternoon to help the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to a 6-3 victory over Plymouth State University in Little East Conference women's tennis action at the PE Center Courts.

            The Corsairs took two of the three doubles matches to open up a 2-1 lead, and put the match in the win column with victories in four of the six singles matches.  UMB remains unbeaten at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while PSU slips to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the LEC.

            PSU senior Sara Burke (Barrington, R.I.) was the top player in the match, winning in straight sets at No. 1 singles after teaming with junior Molly Heartfield (Dorset, Vt.) for a victory at No. 1 doubles.  The only other winner for the home team was freshman Nitsa Ioannides (El Cajon, Calif./Valhalla) at No. 3 singles.  Ioannides is now a team-best 4-1 on the season while Burke is 3-2.

            Schulze won her No. 2 singles match in straight sets for the Corsairs, and paired up with senior Liz Girczyc (Attleboro, Mass.) for a triumph at No. 3 doubles.  Furtado pulled out the win at No. 4 singles and teamed with junior Angela Pollard (Portsmouth, R.I.) to capture the No. 2 singles match.  Other winners for the Corsairs included junior Elizabeth Cignoli (Springfield, Mass.) at No. 5 singles and junior Daniela Roman (Somerset, Mass.) at No. 6.

            PSU plays its fourth straight home match on Monday, hosting Colby-Sawyer College in a non-conference match at 3:30 p.m.  UMD returns home to host Rhode Island College in a conference match Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. 

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