CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Seniors Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine) and Paola Rios (Miami, Fla.) each earned wins in singles play to lead the Simmons University women's tennis team on Senior Day in a 7-2 loss to visiting Suffolk University this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match played at Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, Mass. The Sharks fall to 4-9 overall and 2-5 in league play, while the Rams improve to 5-8 overall and 3-4.
The Rams number two doubles team of senior Elena Cisneros Garcia (Barcelona, Spain) and first year Kendall Smith (Stuttgart, Germany) picked up an 8-5 win over Rios and Medici, but the Simmons duo turned the tables in singles play. Rios outlasted Cisneros Garcia at third singles in a 6-4, 7-6 (3) decision, while Medici dispatched of Smith in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, at number four singles.
Delaney Dunlap (Hingham, Mass.) was one of four double-winners for Suffolk. The top two and the bottom two players in the lineup each won a pair of matches on the day for the visitors. Dunlap combined with first year Ilda Ascic (Sarevo, Bosnia) to earn an 8-2 decision over the Simmons junior pairing of Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam/St. Joseph Prep (Mass.)) and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) at number one doubles. Dunlap fought to a three-set victory at first singles as well, rebounding from a 6-4 first-set loss to earn 6-1 and 6-2 outcomes in the second and third frames, respectively. Ascic also ended the day with two wins, winning at second singles over Johnson with a 6-2, 6-4 effort to give the Rams the deciding point and a 5-0 lead.
The number three doubles duo of senior Meagan French (Newton, N.H.) and first year Jordan Miller (East Longmeadow, Mass.) were both double-victors for Suffolk as well. The pair dropped just one game in an 8-1 win over the Sharks first year tandem of Sarah Mariski (Portland, Maine) and Megan McKeever (Stamford, Conn.). French battled to a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Mariski at fifth singles and Miller did not drop a game in the opening set to Simmons sophomore Carrie St. Peter (Chester, N.H.), before closing out the match with a 6-2 second-set win.
The Sharks and Suffolk will both return to action on Wednesday, October 17 in the opening round of the GNAC Championship Tournament. Simmons earns the sixth seed and will play third-seeded Johnson & Wales University at 2:30 p.m. at Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I., while the Rams will play as the number five seed and travel to Weston, Mass. to take on fourth-seed Regis (Mass.) at 4:30 p.m.