PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Third-seeded Plymouth State University swept doubles play before earning a pair of quick singles wins to top sixth-seeded Salem State University, 5-0, in the first round of the Little East Conference (LEC) Women's Tennis Tournament at the Holderness School Courts on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Panthers got wins from senior Julie Miller (Woburn, Mass.) and freshman Elena Cardoso (Hudson, Mass.) after strong doubles play to pick up the win and advance to the semifinal round.
 
Plymouth State (11-4) advances to face second-seeded Bridgewater State University in a semifinal match Thursday (Oct. 21) at 2:30 p.m. Salem State has its season come to an end with a 4-13 mark.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 5, Salem State 0
  • Plymouth State (11-4)
  • Salem State (4-13)

How it Happened:

• Juniors Kira Winter (Eliot, Mine) and Megan Marshall (Dartmouth, Mass.) got things started with an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles.
• Miller joined forces with sophomore Camilla Puzio (Holden, Mass.) at No. 2 doubles to run away with an 8-1 win, while the freshmen tandem of Tessa LaBarre (North Smithfield, R.I.) and Elena Cardoso (Hudson, Mass.) rolled to an 8-0 win at No. 3.
• Miller was perfect at No. 5 singles going 6-0, 6-0, while Cardoso dropped just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 to secure the match.

By the Numbers:

• Plymouth State has won 11 straight against the Vikings.
• PSU will be making a fourth consecutive appearance in the semifinal round. The Panthers appeared in the championship game two of the last three years (2018-19, 2020-21).
• Miller improves to 9-5 in singles action, while Cardoso is 9-4 in her rookie campaign.
• LaBarre and Cardoso are a team-best 8-3 in pairs action, while Miller and Puzio improve to 7-4.

Up Next:

• Third-seeded Plymouth State visits second-seed Bridgewater State on Thursday (Oct. 21) for a 2:30 p.m. match. The teams just met three days ago, with the Bears posting an 8-1 win.