McCarthy, Alexander win in singles play

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (April 13, 2011) – Freshman Natasha McCarthy (Rindge, N.H.) and junior Drew Alexander (Long Beach, N.Y.) both won in singles play on Wednesday morning, but the Franklin Pierce University women's team dropped a 7-2 decision to Pace in neutral-site, Northeast-10 Conference play.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-11 (1-11 Northeast-10), while Pace improves to 3-10 (3-8 Northeast-10).

Pace jumped to an early 3-0 lead by taking all three doubles matches to start the day. The most compelling match came at second doubles, where Alexander and senior Lauren Smilovich (Meriden, Conn.) played Pace sophomore Danielle Sidoti and freshman Gina Pittore to a virtual tie. The match wound up level at 8-8 before the Pace duo took the tiebreak, 10-4.

The Ravens picked up their only two points of the day in singles play. First, in second singles, McCarthy dropped the first set before bouncing back to defeat Pace freshman Liz Plakhotnaya, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Then, at fourth singles, Alexander downed Pittore, 8-4, in the pro-set format.

Four Pace players won at both doubles and singles on Wednesday, including sophomore Simona Mrazova, who won a back-and-forth match against Franklin Pierce junior Kaitlin Krolikowski (Massapequa, N.Y.) at first singles. Mrazova took the first set, 6-3, before Krolikowski answered with a 6-2 win in the second set. However, Mrazova took control in the third set with a 6-0 shutout. Pace sophomore Danielle Gore was the most dominant on the day, as she lost only three games between her victories at third doubles (8-1) and fifth singles (6-1, 6-1).

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, April 16, when they close out the season with a Northeast-10 Conference match at Southern New Hampshire at 1 p.m. in Manchester, N.H.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).

Results
Doubles
1. Simona Mrazova/Liz Plakhotnaya (PACE) def. Kaitlin Krolikowski/Natasha McCarthy (FPU), 8-2
2. Danielle Sidoti/Gina Pittore (PACE) def. Lauren Smilovich/Drew Alexander (FPU), 8-8 (10-4 tiebreak)
3. Danielle Gore/Carla Gross (PACE) def. Nikki Chalifoux/Amy Carpentier (FPU), 8-1

Singles
1. Mrazova (PACE) def. Krolikowski (FPU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-0
2. McCarthy (FPU) def. Plakhotnaya (PACE), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
3. Sidoti (PACE) def. Smilovich (FPU), 8-3 (pro set)
4. Alexander (FPU) def. Pittore (PACE), 8-4 (pro set)
5. Gore (PACE) def. Chalifoux (FPU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Gross (PACE) def. Tina Bonelli (FPU), 8-4