PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior
Tessa LaBarre (North Smithfield, R.I.) and sophomore
Chloe Ahern (Middleton, Mass.) outlasted their opponents in a grueling match at No. 1 doubles to help spark Plymouth State University to a 6-3 win over Western Connecticut State University in a Little East Conference women's tennis match at the Holderness School Courts on Saturday.
With the teams splitting wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, Ahern and LaBarre's efforts helped PSU take a 2-1 lead after doubles play. The match went to a tie breaker, with PSU surviving by a 9-8 (8-6) margin to hold the lead heading to singles action. The Panthers picked up wins at Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6 to secure their first conference win of the fall.
Plymouth State improves to 2-4 (1-2 LEC), while the Wolves slide to 3-6 (1-3 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, WestConn 3
- Plymouth State (2-4, 1-2 LEC)
- WestConn (3-6, 1-3 LEC)
How it Happened:
- Junior Alyssa Craigie (Gilford, N.H.) and senior Elena Cardoso (Hudson, Mass.) gave PSU its first point with an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles. After the Wolves pulled even with an 8-4 decision at No. 3, all attention was turned to the battle at No. 1.
- Ahern and LaBarre simply outlasted their opponents at the No. 1 spot, eking out a 9-8 win after taking the tiebreaker, 8-6.
- Cardoso extended the PSU lead with a decisive win at No. 4 singles (6-0, 6-1), but WestConn made it 3-2 after winning at No. 5.
- Sophomore Sofia Orama (Marlborough, Conn.) posted a convincing win at No. 6 (6-1, 6-1) and Craigie held on for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win at No. 3 to secure the win.
- WestConn snagged a point at No. 1 singles, before LaBarre closed out the scoring with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2.
By the Numbers:
- Orama improves to 4-2 on the year and 3-1 in conference play. Both marks lead the Panthers.
- Plymouth State has controlled the all-time series, winning 22-of-28 meetings.
- The Panthers have won each of the last 16 matchups dating back to the 2011 season.
Up Next:
- The Panthers head to VTSU Castleton on Wednesday (Oct. 2) for an LEC match with the Spartans starting at 4:00 p.m.
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