WESTON, Mass. - First year Celia Speth (Deering, Mass.) and junior Paola Rios (Miami, Fla.) each won a pair of matches for the Simmons College women's tennis team in a 5-4 loss to host Regis (Mass.) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference dual match this afternoon at the Regis Tennis Center in Weston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in league play, while the Pride improve to 4-1 and a perfect 3-0.

Simmons faced a 2-1 deficit following doubles play. Speth and Rios combined for an 8-2 win at third doubles over the Regis pair of Gracie Jarest (Wrentham, Mass.) and Sara Kanarkiewicz (Peabody, Mass.) to knot the match at 1-1. The Pride took a 2-1 edge with a win at number two doubles. Sophomore Carly Scanlon (Canton, Mass.) and partner Carly Donovan (Harwich, Mass.) went the distance with a 9-7 decision over the Sharks' sophomore pairing of Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam/Saint Joseph's Preparatory (Mass.)) and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.). Regis earned the first point of the day when Ariana McCormack (Worcester, Mass.) and Katasha Jarvis (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) defeated Simmons sophomore Jessica Schroedl (Staatsburg, N.Y.) and senior Olivia Lakes (Dorchester, Mass.), 8-2, at number one doubles.

Speth evened the match for Sharks, dropping just one game at sixth singles in a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kanarkiewicz to earn her third straight singles victory to improve to 7-3 on the season. The Pride won the next two matches to take a 4-2 match lead. Donovan downed Schroedl, 6-2, 6-3, at first singles and McCormack defeated junior Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine), 6-4, 6-0, to push the Sharks to the brink. Rios pulled Simmons closer with a three-set triumph at fifth singles over Amy DiPace (Cambridge, Mass.), rebounding to win the final two sets after a 6-1 first frame loss, she came back to win the second and third sets, 6-3 and 6-2, respectively. Nguyen pulled the Sharks even at 4-4 with a three-set victory of her own at number two singles. She dropped the first set to Jarvis, 6-2, before coming back to win the second, 6-3, and the third, 6-4 to leave the match's result to the final singles contest for the second straight Sunday. 

Scanlon lost the opening set, 7-5, at number three singles to Johnson, but won the final two sets, 6-3, 6-4, to give Regis a 5-4 dual match win.

Simmons returns to the courts on Wednesday, October 4 when it heads to Newton, Mass. to take on GNAC foe Mount Ida College at 3:30 p.m., while the Pride hosts Johnson & Wales University in GNAC action on the same day at 4:30 p.m.