ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst women's tennis team won 4 of 5 contested singles matches en route to a 7-2 non-conference victory over Saginaw Valley State on Friday at the Pennbriar Athletic Club. Both teams are regionally-ranked; Mercyhurst is No. 2 in the Atlantic Region while SVSU is eighth in the Midwest.
Saioa Gomez de Segura,
Kayla Frost,
Adrianna Jeffress and
Adina Spahalic earned singles points for the Lakers (5-0). Gomez de Segura and Spahalic had a doubles point for MU. Mercyhurst claimed two other points via forfeit.
The Lakers took a 2-1 match lead when Gomez de Segura and Spahalic, the fourth-ranked doubles team in the Atlantic, worked an 8-6 win over Saginaw's Danielle Slonac and Joanne Gao at No. 2 doubles.
Mercyhurst went up 3-1 at the start of singles -- thanks to a second forfeit point -- and then closed the door on the Cardinals with wins with Gomez de Segura and Spahalic leading the way once again.
The fourth-ranked woman in NCAA Division II, Gomez de Segura, secured a 6-3, 6-3, win at first singles against Shea Donahue, who is rated 14th in the Midwest. Spahalic clinched the match with Mercyhurst's fifth point, taking a 6-2, 6-0, decision against Nikita Hill at No. 5 singles.
Frost and Jeffress, who are ranked second and third in the Atlantic behind Gomez de Segura, tacked on singles wins for Mercyhurst. Frost, who is also rated 50th in Division II, outlasted Maddie Miller, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 1-0 (10-6), at second singles. Jeffress' win came at third singles against Gao, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
The Lakers will compete again on Saturday when they host Daemen.
Mercyhurst 7, Saginaw Valley 2
| Singles competition |
| 1. S. Gomez de Segura (MER-W) def. Shea Donahue (SV) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2. Kayla Frost (MER-W) def. Maddie Miller (SV) 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 1-0 (10-6) |
| 3. Adrianna Jeffress (MER-W) def. Joanne Gao (SV) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) |
| 4. Danielle Slonac (SV) def. Ivona Plecevic (MER-W) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 5. Adina Spahalic (MER-W) def. Nikita Hill (SV) 6-2, 6-0 |
| 6. Athina Tsagkaraki (MER-W) def. No player (SV), by forfeit |
| Match Notes |
| Saginaw Valley 9-6 |
| Mercyhurst 5-0 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,5,2,4,3) |
