Lovejoy, Rodgers win in both singles and doubles play

WOODBRIDGE, Conn. (September 23, 2012) – Freshman Aubrey Lovejoy (Holden, Mass.) won her matches at both second doubles and fourth singles on Sunday afternoon, but the Franklin Pierce University women's tennis team was defeated, 5-4, on the road against New Haven in Northeast-10 Conference play.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 0-4 (0-4 Northeast-10), while New Haven improves to 2-1 (2-0 Northeast-10).

Franklin Pierce won two of the three available doubles points to open the match on Sunday afternoon. At second doubles, Lovejoy teamed with junior Natasha McCarthy (Rindge, N.H.) to breeze to an 8-1 win over New Haven sophomore Martha Petzoldt and junior Nan Sirihorachai. Meanwhile, at third doubles, sophomores Leslie Rodgers (Westminster, Md.) and Christine Boulanger (East Hampton, Conn.) picked up an 8-3 win against sophomores Christina Santos and Jessica MacPhee.

Later, in singles play, the team match would wind up turning on the outcome of third singles, where senior Melissa Cohen (Queens, N.Y.) squared off with Petzoldt. Petzoldt squeaked out a 6-4 win in the first set and by the time the second set was bound for a tiebreaker, the team match was all level at 4-4. Thus, a win in the tiebreaker by Cohen would force a decisive tiebreak set for the team match, while a win by Petzoldt would give the Chargers the victory. The tiebreaker went the distance and then some, as Petzoldt staved off one set point along the way and eventually posted the 8-6 win to finish off the afternoon.

Elsewhere in singles play, the Ravens picked up points at fourth and fifth singles, as both Lovejoy and Rodgers finished up two-win afternoons. At fourth singles, Lovejoy posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sirihorachai. At fifth singles, Rodgers notched a 6-0, 6-1 win against Santos.

The Ravens return to the court on Sunday, Sept. 30, when they travel to Merrimack for a Northeast-10 Conference match at 2:30 p.m. in North Andover, Mass.

Results
Doubles
1. Lindsey Conley/ Samantha Nigri (UNH) def. Kirby Melbourne/Melissa Cohen (FPU), 8-2
2. Natasha McCarthy/Aubrey Lovejoy (FPU) def. Martha Petzoldt/Nan Sirihorachai (UNH), 8-1
3. Leslie Rodgers/Christine Boulanger (FPU) def. Jessica MacPhee/Christina Santos (UNH), 8-3

Singles
1. Samantha Nigri (UNH) def. Natasha McCarthy (FPU), 7-5, 2-0 (retired)
2. Lindsey Conley (UNH) def. Kirby Melbourne (FPU), 6-1, 6-0
3. Martha Petzoldt (UNH) def. Melissa Cohen (FPU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-6)
4. Amber Lovejoy (FPU) def. Nan Sirihorachai (UNH), 6-3, 6-4
5. Leslie Rodgers (FPU) def. Christina Santos (UNH), 6-0, 6-1
6. Jessica MacPhee (UNH) def. Christine Boulanger (FPU), 6-0, 6-0

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).