BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Paola Rios (Miami, Fla.) won the first two matches of her collegiate career to lead the Simmons College women's tennis team to a 5-4 victory over visiting University of Massachusetts Boston today at Daly Courts in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks earn their first win of the season and improve to 1-2, while the Beacons dip to 1-1.
Rios combined with sophomore Jessica Schroedl (Staatsburg, N.Y.) at number one doubles to defeat the UMass Boston pair of senior Kristy Garcia (Miami, Fla.) and sophomore Katie Gauthier (West Boylston, Mass.), 8-5, to earn the first point of the match. Rios later clinched the dual match victory for Simmons with a 6-4, 6-3 straight set victory at fifth singles over senior Meghan Erickson (Hubbardston, Mass.) to give the home team a 5-2 lead.
The Sharks took a 2-0 lead following an 8-4 win at number two doubles from the sophomore tandem of Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam/St. Joseph Preparatory (Mass.)) and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) over the Beacons pair of sophomores Martina Daelli (Florence, Italy/Concord-Carlisle (Mass.)) and Valeria Tueme (Bonney Lake, Wash.). UMass Boston senior Kathleen Conroy (Quincy, Mass.) and Erickson combined to earn an 8-6 decision at third doubles over Simmons first years Celia Speth (Deerfield, Mass.) and Gail Tynkov (Edison, N.J.) to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into singles play.
Junior Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine) added to the Sharks lead with a 6-3, 6-1 win at fourth singles over Gauthier, before Conroy pulled the visitors to within 3-2 with a 6-0, 6-4 triumph at number three singles over Johnson. Speth picked up her first collegiate victory for Simmons at sixth singles, winning the first set, 7-5, before battling back from a 3-0 deficit in the second frame to pull out a 6-4 effort to give the Sharks a 4-2 lead.
Daelli outlasted Nguyen at second singles, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to pull the Beacons to within 5-3, before Garcia gutted out a three-set win of her own at number one singles over Schroedl, 7-5, 4-6, 10-5, to set the final at 5-4.
Simmons returns to the court on Saturday, September 9 when it heads to Worcester, Mass. to take on Clark University at 1:00 p.m., while UMass Boston travels to Bridgewater, Mass. on the same day to open Little East Conference play at Bridgewater State University at 12:00 p.m.
