Panthers down Beacons for third straight win

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University won the first five singles matches to pull away from the University of Massachusetts Boston, 7-2, in a Little East Conference (LEC) women's tennis match at the Holderness School Tennis Courts on Saturday afternoon.

            After splitting the first two doubles matches, PSU took No. 1 doubles to pull ahead 2-1. The Panthers then captured wins at the first five singles spots to wrap up the victory.

            With its third straight win, Plymouth State improves to 5-2 (3-1 LEC), while the Beacons drop to 0-3 (0-3 LEC).

            The Basics:

            Plymouth State 7, UMass Boston 2

            Plymouth State 5-2, 3-1 LEC

            UMass Boston 0-3, 0-3 LEC

            How it Happened:

            * Sophomore Jenna Sundquist (Monument Beach, Mass.) and senior Megan Wheeler (Manchester, N.H.) teamed up to get the Panthers off to a good start, taking No. 2 doubles by an 8-1 score.

            * The Beacons answered with an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles as senior Baila Mir (Somerset, Mass.) and freshman Leah Bosco (Greenfield, Mass.) paired up to even things at 1-1.

            * Sophomores Sage Winter (New Castle, N.H.) and Maggie McCarthy (Marion, Mass.) gave PSU a 2-1 advantage after an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles.

            * Plymouth State cruised through the early singles matches, as McCarthy (6-1, 6-1), Sundquist (6-0, 6-2) and sophomore Kerstin Venincasa (Sutton, Mass.) (6-4, 6-0) earned straight set wins at Nos. 2, 3 and 4.

            * Wheeler topped Mir at No. 5 singles in three sets, holding on for a 10-5 win in the super breaker.

            * After taking the first set by a 6-3 score, Winter rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second to post a 6-4 win.

            * Freshman Brie Hada (Alton, N.H.), in her first conference action of the year, played tough in a 6-2, 4-6, 7-10 loss to Bosco at No. 6.

            Inside the Numbers:

            * The duo of Winter and McCarthy have won three straight pairs matches to improve to 6-1 as a team.

            * Freshman Lexi Smith (Rindge, N.H.) got her first taste of LEC competition, teaming with Venincasa at No. 3 doubles.

            * PSU improves to 16-2 all-time against the Beacons, but the teams had split the last two decisions by identical 5-4 scores.

            Straight from the Coach's Mouth:

            "No. 1 and No. 2 doubles both played very well," praised head coach Barbara Rawlsky-Willett. "We played in control and did what we needed to do. In singles play, Sage [Winter] played a great second set after falling behind. Jenna [Sundquist] took care of business, Maggie [McCarthy] was great and Megan [Wheeler] and Brie [Hada] really hung in there."

            Up Next:

            * The Panthers visit Northern Vermont University-Johnson for a non-conference match on Monday (Sept. 24) at 3:30 p.m.

            * UMass Boston heads to Rhode Island College on Tuesday (Sept. 25) for an LEC match starting at 3:30 p.m.

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