QU Women's Tennis Drops Narrow 4-3 Decision to Middlebury in Final Tune-Up Before Postseason

Friday, April 20

Hamden, Conn.

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Middlebury

QU Women's Tennis Drops Narrow 4-3 Decision to Middlebury in Final Tune-Up Before Postseason

4/20/2018 7:34:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: QU Athletic Communications

HAMDEN, Conn. -- The Quinnipiac women's tennis team had a close battle with Division III power Middlebury, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation, but fell on the short end of a 4-3 final on Friday afternoon at Quinnipiac Outdoor Courts.

The loss snapped a five-match win streak for the Bobcats, who fall to 13-7 on the year, while Middlebury improves to 10-2. Quinnipiac wrapped up a 7-0 regular season in the MAAC, its fifth straight unbeaten regular season in conference play, with a road win over Marist on Tuesday, and played a tough Panthers team in nonconference action to prepare for next weekend's conference tournament.

The Bobcats took the doubles point by winning two of the three matches, as sophomore Layla Rodriguez and junior Alexandra Mircea won 6-1 at No. 3, and junior Jennifer Lu and freshman Payton Bradley took a 6-3 win at No. 1.

Middlebury, though, grabbed the upper hand in singles and took a 2-1 lead with straight-set wins at No. 2 and No. 3 before the other courts all went to third sets. Freshman Dominique Vasile, who dropped the first set 7-5, regrouped to power through the next two sets 6-1, 6-1 to tie the score at two points apiece.

After Middlebury took back the lead, Bobcats freshman Courtney Nash earned a three-set win at No. 6 (7-5 in the third) to tie the score at 3-3, but Skylar Schossberger took the final point at No. 4 for the Panthers to earn the narrow win.

Quinnipiac will be the top seed in next weekend's MAAC Tournament and will face the No. 4 seed in the semifinals on Saturday, April 28 at Mercer County Park in New Jersey. The Bobcats have won all four MAAC titles since joining the league in 2013-14, and are 45-0 all-time against MAAC opponents (37-0 regular season, 8-0 in the tournament).

Middlebury 4, Quinnipiac 3
Apr 20, 2018 at Hamden, CT (Quinnipiac Outdoor Courts)

Singles competition

1. Dominique Vasile (QUI) def. Christina Puccinelli (MIDDWT) 5-7, 5-1, 6-1

2. Katherine Hughes (MIDDWT) def. Jennifer Lu (QUI) 7-5, 6-4

3. Catherine Blazye (MIDDWT) def. Payton Bradley (QUI) 7-5, 6-0

4. Skylar Schossberger (MIDDWT) def. Layla Rodriguez (QUI) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3

5. Molly Paradies (MIDDWT) def. Proyfon Lohaphaisan (QUI) 6-7, 6-0, 6-2

6. Courtney Nash (QUI) def. Emily Bian (MIDDWT) 7-6, 1-6, 7-5

Doubles competition

1. Jennifer Lu/Payton Bradley (QUI) def. Catherine Blazye/Maddi Stow (MIDDWT) 6-3

2. Ann Martin Skelly/Heather Boehm (MIDDWT) def. Dominique Vasile/Proyfon Lohaphaisan (QUI) 6-3

3. Alexandra Mircea/Layla Rodriguez (QUI) def. Molly Paradies/Emily Bian (MIDDWT) 6-1