BRUNSWICK, Maine – Colby-Sawyer took all three doubles matches on Thursday, jumping out to a quick lead over UMass Dartmouth women's tennis and eventually prevailing 5-0 in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship, hosted by Bowdoin College.
UMass Dartmouth closes the 2015-16 year with an 11-8 overall record, culminating the fall season with the 2016 Little East Conference Tournament title. Colby-Sawyer is now 19-5 and a winner of four-straight, advancing to meet Tufts tomorrow as the regional continues.
The Chargers picked up 8-1 wins at the first two flights in doubles to set the pace early. At No. 2, the duo of freshman Aislinn O'Connor (New Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Evelyn Miller (Smithfield, R.I.) prevailed first over the Corsair sophomore pairing of Kerry Magoon (Marshfield, Mass.) and Samantha Rollings (Tiverton, R.I.). Soon after, UMass Dartmouth freshman Jenna Lahaie (Lakeville, Mass.) and senior Maggie LeBrun (Mattapoisett, Mass.) slipped to sophomore Ashley Woodside (Hampden, Maine) and senior Ashlyn Ramsay (Barkhamsted, Conn.) at the No. 1 slot.
The third flight grouping, senior Kristen Rose (North Dartmouth, Mass.) and sophomore Mollie McCaffrey (Taunton, Mass.) battled a back-and-forth match with Chargers Lauren Blanchard (Agawam, Mass.) and Maddy Gemerek (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), fighting to a 6-5 score before Colby-Sawyer gathered the last three sets and prevailed 8-5.
Woodside then led off the singles competition for the Chargers, downing Magoon in straight sets at the No. 2 flight. At No. 4, Miller then collected another 6-0, 6-0 victory for her squad, securing the team win over Rose.
Before the match was concluded, the remaining Corsair singles players were putting together strong comeback performances. McCaffrey closed No. 5 play tied at 5-5 in the first set with Gemerek, while LeBrun sat at 1-2 in the second set after dropping the first 3-6 to O'Connor at No. 3.
At No. 6, Rollings also dropped a 3-6 first set to Blanchard and was down 1-4 in the next set when play ended. Ramsay held a 6-0, 4-2 decision at No. 1 over Lahaie.
In the fall, the Corsairs gathered the first LEC title for the program since the 2007-08 year and the first for head coach Doug Chapman. UMass Dartmouth defeated No. 5 seed UMass Boston in the quarterfinals before taking down the top two seeds in Rhode Island College and Bridgewater State en route to the title.
DOUBLES
No. 1: Ashley Woodside & Ashlyn Ramsay (CSU) def. Jenna Lahaie & Maggie LeBrun (UMD): 8-1
No. 2: Aislinn O'Connor & Evelyn Miller (CSU) def. Kerry Maggon & Samantha Rollings (UMD): 8-1
No. 3: Lauren Blanchard & Maddy Gemerek (CSU) def. Kristen Rose & Mollie McCaffrey (UMD): 8-5
SINGLES
No. 1: Ashlynn Ramsay (CSU) vs. Jenna Lahaie (UMD): 6-0, 4-2 unfinished
No. 2: Ashley Woodside (CSU) def. Kerry Magoon (UMD): 6-0, 6-0
No. 3: Aislinn O'Connor (CSU) vs. Maggie LeBrun (UMD): 6-3, 2-1 unfinished
No. 4: Evelyn Miller (CSU) def. Kristen Rose (UMD), 6-0, 6-0
No. 5: Maddy Gemerek (CSU) vs. Mollie McCaffrey (UMD): 5-5 unfinished
No. 6: Lauren Blanchard (CSU) vs. Samantha Rollings (UMD): 6-3, 1-4 unfinished
