BOSTON, Mass.- The Simmons College women's tennis team's 13-match win streak over Clark University came to an end as the Cougars pulled out a 5-4 victory this afternoon at the Daly Field Athletic Complex in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 0-2 on the season, while Clark wins its season opener to improve to 1-0.

The victory was the first for Clark over Simmons since September 7, 2001 – a span of 13 straight matches. 

Junior Olivia Lakes (Dorchester, Mass.) was a double winner for the Sharks. She combined with junior Mary Matthews (Wakefield, R.I.) to outlast the Cougars duo of first year Anna Gates (North Scituate, R.I.) and sophomore Maggie Tarbox (Lebanon, Conn.), 9-8 (4), at third doubles to cut the deficit to 2-1. Lakes later finished the day with a 7-6 (4), 7-5 win at fourth singles over Clark junior Misa Mai (Sanford, Maine).  

Cougars' junior Isabelle Long (Bellevue, Wash.) combined with Mai to earn an 8-2 pro-set victory at number one doubles over the Sharks rookie pair of Jessica Schroedl (Staatsburg, N.Y.) and Mai Driesen (Fayetteville, N.Y.) to put the Cougars on the board. Long cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory at first singles over Schroedl to begin singles action. 

The sophomore duo of Emily Shuman (Needham, Mass.) and Adrien Horowitz (Arvada, Colo.) won at second doubles, 8-3, for Clark over the Simmons first year tandem of Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) and Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam/St. Joseph Prep (MA)).

Shuman gave Clark a 4-1 lead with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at second singles over Nguyen, before Driesen cut the deficit in half for Simmons with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 decision at fifth singles for her first collegiate win. Horowitz scored the deciding victory for the Cougars with a 6-3, 6-3 effort over Johnson at number three singles for a 5-2 lead. 

The Sharks took the final two singles matches to close to within 5-4. Sophomore Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine) registered her first career win for Simmons after winning the first set at sixth singles, 6-3, before hanging on for the win over Gates with a 7-6 (4) showing in the second frame. 

The Sharks will be in action again on Monday, September 5 when they travel to South Hadley, Mass. to take on Mount Holyoke College at 11:00 a.m., while Clark hosts Nichols College on September 8 at 4:00 p.m. in its home opener.