BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons University women's tennis team boasted four double-winners in an 8-1 victory over host Suffolk University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest this afternoon on Daly Courts in Brighton, Mass. Although the match was played on the Sharks home court, the Rams served as the home squad. Simmons wins its third straight to improve to 5-6 overall, including 3-2 in league play, while Suffolk falls to 1-9 and 1-4. 

The Sharks swept doubles play to take a 3-0 lead in the dual match, before winning the first two singles matches to clinch the contest. 

The senior tandem of Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam/Saint Joseph's Preparatory (Mass.)) and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) cruised to an 8-1 victory at number one doubles over Suffolk sophomores Ilda Ascic (Sarajevo, Bosnia) and Kendall Smith (Stuttgart, Germany). Johnson also picked up a singles win, dropping just one game at the number two spot, in a 6-0, 6-1 effort over Smith to improve to 5-2 in singles play on the year and give Simmons a 5-0 lead and the deciding point of the match. 

Ascic bested Nguyen at first singles, 6-1, 6-3, to give the Rams their lone point of the match and make it 7-1 at the time. 

The Sharks sophomore pairing of Sarah Mariski (Portland, Maine) and Megan McKeever (Stamford, Conn.) had little trouble in an 8-1 triumph at second doubles over sophomore Jordan Miller (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and first year Barbara Consales (Barquisimeto-Lara, Venezuela). Mariski also posted a win at third singles by a 6-2, 6-0 count over Miller, while McKeever turned in a 6-1, 6-1 straight set win at fifth singles over first year Alyssa Blade (Killingly, Conn.). 

Simmons junior Carrie St. Peter (Chester, N.H.) combined with first year Leah Bonis (Bath, Maine) for an 8-4 win at third doubles over Blade and first year Bianca Prescott (East Granby, Conn.) to improve their record as a duo to a perfect 3-0 for the season. Bonis registered her second win of the day with a 6-2, 6-1 win at number four singles over Consales. 

The Sharks picked up a win at sixth singles as well from first year Mary Miller (Newton, N.H.), who defeated Prescott, 6-3, 6-4. 

Simmons returns to the court on Saturday, October 5 when it heads to Quincy, Mass. to take on GNAC foe Eastern Nazarene College at 1:00 p.m., while Suffolk travels to Riverside, R.I. on the same day to take on conference opponent Johnson & Wales University for a 6:00 p.m. match.