The Lesley women's tennis team earned a 5-1 victory in the semi final match against NVU-Johnson, then later fell to Husson University 5-0 in the NAC Championship match. With the split in championship series the No. 2 Lynx are to 4-8 on the year and 4-2 in NAC competition.
Semi Finals- Lesley 5, NVU-Johnson 1
The Number 1 doubles pair of Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) and Sara Stanton (Manchester, Mass.) led the whole match, winning 8-3 over NVU-Johnson duo Grace Page (Bennington, Vt.) and Mikalya Messier (Sheldon, Vt.). The second court saw back and forth action, with Lesley's Maddie Abbott (Portland, Maine) and Jessica Russo (Watertown, Mass.) prevailing in the end 8-5 over the NVU-Johnson pair of Sam Kershner (Essex Vt.) and Libby Chitambar (Newport, Vt.). The third court held the closest match, with Lesley's Mary Pulling (Witman Hanson, Mass.) and Sarah Tobin (Amesbury, Mass.) fighting to a tie break with Badgers Becca Simon (New Prague, MN) and Leah Gadboury (St. Albans, Vt.). The Badgers duo won the only match on day for NVU-Johnson with a 7-4 tiebreaking set at third doubles.
In singles action, Russo (No. 3) and Pereira (No. 2) won matches with identical scores of 6-2, 6-1; followed closely by a win from teammate Pulling in the fifth flight (6-2, 6-3) to secure the win.
Championship- Husson 5, Lesley 0
Husson won all three doubles matches to start the championship. Number 1 Meridith Blessard (Lincoln, Maine) and Ashley Matlock (Caribou, Maine) beat Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) and Sara Stanton (Manchester, Mass.) 8-0 while No. 3 Marissa Brown (Lincoln, R.I.) and Jocelyn Bell (Holden, Maine) topped Lesley's Mary Pulling (Witman Hanson, Mass.) and Sarah Tobin (Amesbury, Mass.) 8-2.
The longest match of the day came with No. 2 Natalie Tilton (Lincoln, Maine) and Hannah Malinen (Middletown, Pa.) clawing their way back from a deficit to top Lesley's Maddie Abbott (Portland, Maine) and Jessica Russo (Watertown, Mass.) 8-6 in a match lasting just over an hour. The Lesley duo was up 5-2 early, then Husson closed the gap and took the lead 7-5. Lesley took the next set to bring the score to 7-6 before Husson served for the match win.
Julia O'Leary picked up the first singles win (6-2, 6-1), followed by Blessard who clinched the championship with a 6-1, 6-0 win.
Lesley University (4-8, 4-2) placed Pereira and Russo on the All-Tournament team. Husson's second doubles pair of Bell and Brown were also selected, along with the tournament MVP Meridith Blessard.
Husson will represent the NAC in the 2018-19 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship Tournament in May.
All-Tournament Team
Meridith Blessard, MVP - Husson
Jocelyn Bell - Husson
Marisa Brown - Husson
Theresa Periera - Lesley
Jessica Russo - Lesley
Faibe Achina - NVU-Lyndon
Mikayla Messier - NVU-Johnson
2018 NAC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinals
Match 1 - No. 2 Lesley (3-7, 3-1) 5 vs. No. 3 NVU-Johnson (4-6, 2-2) 1
Match 2 - No. 1 Husson (9-0, 5-0) 5 vs. No. 4 NVU-Lyndon (2-9, 1-4) 0
Championship Match
Match 3 - No. 1 Husson (10-0, 6-0) 5 vs. No. 2 Lesley (3-8, 3-2) 0