Lehigh University
Colgate
Lehigh wins at Colgate, clinch No. 2 seed (at least)
4/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Hamilton, NY – The Mountain Hawks clinched at least the No. 2 seed for the Patriot League tournament on Saturday, beating Colgate 4-3 on the road to up their record to 13-3 (3-1 in the Patriot League). The victory sets up a showdown with Army on Wednesday, April 13, for hosting honors.
Head coach Dave Shook employed a new strategy to perfection on Saturday, splitting up his top doubles pair in hopes of having a better chance of winning doubles after the loss to Bucknell last Wednesday. Kristen Nowicki teamed with Starr Foster to take the first doubles set, winning 8-4 over Marissa Alikpala and Chloe Lipp. Then, in the second set, Lehigh clinched the point as Rachel Samson and Lindsay Long took an 8-5 decision over Emily Wenink and Sheila Rao. Colgate would win the third set 9-8, but Lehigh had the 1-0 lead going into singles play.
Nowicki continued to show why she is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Month with a tough win over Alikpala in top flight singles, winning a close one 7-5, 6-4.
But Colgate would rally, tying it up at 2-2 as Jackie Couture beat Samson 7-5, 6-1, and Jamie Maldow defeated Maria Anorga 6-3, 6-2.
The two schools would split the next two matches, setting up a decisive sixth flight between Foster and Allison Stoloff. And Foster, who dropped a similar match in the loss to Bucknell, came through when her team needed her, winning the match 7-5, 6-4, sealing the victory.
“What a big win for us,” said Shook. “I thought splitting up our top doubles would be risky, but it paid off immensely since we split the singles 3-3. I was proud of Starr, coming back as she did to win such an important match. Now we have to get ready for Army.”
The Black Knights come to the
The match is set to begin at
Lehigh vs. Colgate – Doubles
1. Nowicki/Foster, Lehigh | Alikpala/Lipp, Colgate | Lehigh, 8-4 |
2. Samson/Long, LU | Wenink/Rao, Colgate | Lehigh, 8-5 |
3. Anorga/Dwyer, LU | Maldow/Smalley, Colgate | Colgate, 9-8 |
Lehigh vs. Colgate – Singles
1. Nowicki, Lehigh | Alikpala, Colgate | Nowicki, 7-5 6-4 |
2. Samson, Lehigh | Couture, Colgate | Couture, 7-5 6-1 |
3. Anorga, Lehigh | Maldow, Colgate | Maldow, 6-3 6-2 |
4. Dwyer, Lehigh | Lipp, Colgate | Dwyer, 6-3 7-5 |
5. Long, Lehigh | Rao, Colgate | Rao, 6-3 6-2 |
6. Foster, Lehigh | Stoloff, Colgate | Foster, 7-5 6-4 |
