Le Moyne Outlasts Women’s Tennis, 6-3

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Back-and-forth matches at second doubles and sixth singles went in favor of the Le Moyne College Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, which proved to be enough to win the match as the Merrimack College women's tennis program dropped a 6-3 decision to the Dolphins from the Skytop Tennis Courts.

The Basics
Score: Le Moyne 6, Merrimack 3
Records: Merrimack (6-4, 6-4 NE10) | Le Moyne (9-2, 7-2 NE10)
Location: Syracuse, N.Y. | Skytop Tennis Courts

NE10 Postseason Outlook
The top-six programs qualify for the Northeast-10 Championship, with the top-two seeds earning byes to the semifinals while the No. 3-4 seeded hosts the No. 5-6 seeds in quarterfinal action. The NE10 Championship begins on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

1) Stonehill (8-0, 7-0)
2) Adelphi (10-1, 9-1)
3) Assumption (10-1, 8-1)
4) Le Moyne (9-2, 7-2)
5) SNHU (5-3, 5-3)
6) Merrimack (6-4, 6-4)
7) Bentley (6-3, 3-3)
8) Saint Anselm (4-5, 3-5)
9) New Haven (4-7, 3-6)
10) Saint Michael's (4-8, 3-7)
12) Franklin Pierce (1-10, 1-7)
13) AIC (1-10, 1-8)
13) Saint Rose (0-10, 0-11)

Results
Doubles

1. Rithika Vajjiravelu/A. Benoit-Limosani (LEM) def. Mana Seifaei/Cassie Restrepo (MERW) 8-0 2. Marta Nunez/Camila Humala (LEM) def. Danielle Dunn/Mia Briggs (MERW) 9-8 (7-5) 3. Lauren Persson/Mackenzie Blair (MERW) def. Tiffany Hamdan/Caroline St. Antoine (LEM) 8-3

Singles

1. Rithika Vajjiravelu (LEM) def. Lauren Persson (MERW) 6-4, 7-5 2. Mana Seifaei (MERW) def. Tiffany Hamdan (LEM) 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 3. A. Benoit-Limosani (LEM) def. Danielle Dunn (MERW) 6-2, 6-0 4. Cassie Restrepo (MERW) def. Caroline St. Antoine (LEM) 6-4, 6-4 5. Marta Nunez (LEM) def. Mia Briggs (MERW) 6-4, 6-1 6. Camila Humala (LEM) def. Mackenzie Blair (MERW) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 10-7

Rapid Recap (Doubles)

• Boasting one of the best first-doubles pairings in the Northeast-10 Conference, the Dolphins took the first flight to open a 1-0 lead in the match. Merrimack answered with a third-flight victory, where senior Mackenzie Blair (Thomaston, Conn.) and junior Lauren Persson (Barnstable, Mass.) prevailed in 8-3 fashion to quickly even the score
• Second doubles proved to be one of the most exciting matches of the day. Trailing 6-1, senior Danielle Dunn (Middleton, Mass.) and sophomore Mia Briggs (York, Maine) roared back to force a tiebreaker, winning seven of the next nine games. In a close breaker, the Dolphins triumphed, 7-5, to win the crucial second point

Rapid Recap (Singles)

• Freshman Cassie Restrepo (Miami, Fla.) got Merrimack its first singles point with a sweep at No. 4 (6-4, 6-4)
• Senior Mana Seifaei (North York, Ontario) won her opening set and recovered after a second-set loss to win the third, 6-0, to get the Warriors their third point of the day. Blair also went the distance at No. 6, but saw the Dolphins' Camila Humala win a nail-biter, 6-7, 6-4, 10-7
• Le Moyne's two-set wins at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 singles enabled the Dolphins to clinch the match

Up Next
The Warriors play their final two home matches of the regular season this week beginning on Wednesday against first-place Stonehill at 3 p.m. from North Andover High School.