WINCHESTER, Mass. - The Simmons College women's tennis team defeated Suffolk University, 5-2, this afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Semifinals at the Winchester Tennis Center in Winchester, Mass.

The Sharks improve to 7-5 on the season, while the Rams fall to 9-9. Simmons advances to the GNAC Championship match for the 13th straight year and will take on top-seeded Johnson & Wales University, which defeated fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 5-0, earlier in the day. The teams will return to the Winchester Tennis Center for the championship match tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.

First year Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (Saint Joseph Preparatory (Mass.)) and junior Olivia Lakes (Dorchester, Mass.) were both double winners for Simmons.

The Sharks took a 2-1 edge following doubles play. Nguyen and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) put Simmons on the board with an 8-1 victory at second doubles over junior Isabel Rathlev (Wellesley, Mass.) and Elena Cisneros Garcia (Barcelona, Spain). The Sharks increased their lead to 2-0, following a first doubles victory. First year Jessica Schroedl (Staatsburg, N.Y.) combined with Lakes for an 8-4 win over graduate student Eugenia Skorobogatova and first year Christina Texidor (Miami, Fla.). Suffolk cut the deficit in half when the pair of first year Danlyn Medou (Inglewood, Calif.) and Jacquelyn Nakamura (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) earned an 8-5 decision over junior Mary Matthews (Wakefield, R.I.) and sophomore Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine). 

Lakes gave Simmons a 3-1 margin with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Texidor at fourth singles, but Skorobogatova got a point back for the Rams with a win at first singles. She scored a 6-4, 6-3 win over Schroedl to make it 3-2. Nguyen pushed the Sharks to the brink of a dual match victory following a 6-2, 6-2 win over Garcia at number two singles. First year Mai Driesen (Fayetteville, N.Y.) clinched the match for Simmons with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Rathlev at fifth singles for a 5-2 final.