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Melbourne, Parrett, Rodgers Lead Way as Women’s Tennis wins at Saint Rose, 6-3

Melbourne, Parrett, Rodgers Lead Way as Women’s Tennis wins at Saint Rose, 6-3

Rodgers battles back for first singles win of season

Rodgers Rodgers dropped the first set but blew out her opponent in the next two to pick up her first singles win of the season on Sunday afternoon at Saint Rose.

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 20, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University women's tennis team defeated Saint Rose, 6-3, to close out the fall portion of its Northeast-10 Conference season on the road on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 1-6 (1-6 Northeast-10), while Saint Rose falls to 0-7 (0-5 Northeast-10).

The well-prepared Ravens started the match with a dominant showing in doubles play. At first doubles, senior Natasha McCarthy (Rindge, N.H.) and junior Emily Parrett (Amherst, N.H.) dropped the Saint Rose pair of sophomore Paige Southwick and freshman Gabriella Pizzanelli, 8-2.

Second doubles partners, sophomore Kirby Melbourne (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) and junior Leslie Rodgers (Westminster, Md.) followed up with a win of their own and lost only one game en route to their 8-1 win over juniors Alyssa Haddad and Megan Stacklum.

The Ravens followed up their doubles performances with four wins in singles play. Melbourne produced a strong showing in her match against Pizzanelli at second singles, as she took command of the match early with her strong serve and accurately placed forehand on the way to a 7-6, 6-2 win.

At fourth singles, Rodgers needed three sets (4-6, 6-1, 6-1) to defeat Stacklum in arguably the best match of her fall season. Rodgers found her composure and settled deep along the baseline, watching her opponent's every move. She reacted in anticipation of the serve well all day to break Stacklum multiple times en route to the win.

Parrett also needed three sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) to defeat Saint Rose junior Maggie Moran at third singles. Parrett moved well and utilized her powerful, well-polished backhand to move her opponent around the court. Elsewhere, sophomore Nicole Gilooly (East Sandwich, Mass.) had a solid showing in her 6-2, 7-5 defeat of junior Ashley Cunningham at fifth singles.

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce tennis apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).