Lehigh University
Lafayette
Mountain Hawks down rival Leopards 5-2
4/6/2010 5:30:00 PM | Women's Tennis
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women’s tennis team continued its recent dominance over rival Lafayette with a 5-2 win Tuesday afternoon on the Ulrich Varsity Courts. The Mountain Hawks raced to an early 4-0 lead and never looked back; sweeping the doubles points and winning four of six singles matches to pick up their ninth straight win over the Leopards. The win improves Lehigh’s record to 3-11 overall and 2-2 in the Patriot League.
The Mountain Hawks had little trouble capturing the doubles point. Junior Kiera Murasko-Blank and freshman Abbey Perl cruised to an 8-2 win over Frawley Barton and Ali Dally at No. 3 doubles, while Lehigh’s top two teams, senior Julie Arthofer and sophomore Liz Piscitelli at No. 1 and senior Stacey Reich and freshman Patricia Muething at No. 2, won their matches by 8-4 scores.
“We worked very hard to win the doubles point,” said Lehigh head coach Dave Shook. That was something I deemed very important because it took a lot of the pressure off, only having to win three of the six singles matches. We played well in doubles and it relaxed us as we moved into singles.”
In singles play, Muething blanked Kate Herman 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles to extend the lead, with Reich following close behind, downing Rachel Rohinsky in straight sets at No. 3 singles. Sophomore Izzy Breit picked up the clinching point with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kristie Cavanagh at No. 6 singles.
“Stacey Reich, as one of our seniors, really stepped up,” Shook said. “She picked up a quick win in singles, and our freshman Patricia Muething went out and got a big win in her first Lehigh-Lafayette match. We did a great job putting the match away after winning the doubles but taking the first three singles matches.”
Lafayette (2-7, 0-5 Patriot League) picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 5 singles, before Lehigh senior Julie Arthofer closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Caitlin Gordon at No. 1 singles.
Lehigh will be back on the courts Thursday afternoon when the Mountain Hawks travel to Bucknell. The match is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start from Lewisburg, Pa.
Lehigh 5, Lafayette 2
Doubles
1. Arthofer/Piscitelli (LU) def. Gordon/Grad (LC) 8-4
2. Reich/Muething (LU) def. Rohinsky/DeLuca (LC) 8-4
3. Murasko-Blank/Perl (LU) def. Barton/Dally (LC) 8-2
Singles
1. Julie Arthofer (LU) def. Caitlin Gordon (LC) 6-4, 6-3
2. Kelsey Grad (LC) def. Liz Piscitelli (LU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Stacey Reich (LU) def. Rachel Rohinsky (LC) 6-1, 6-2
4. Patricia Muething (LU) def. Kate Herman (LC) 6-0, 6-0
5. Emily DeLuca (LC) def. Kiera Murasko-Blank (LU) 6-3, 1-6, 10-3
6. Izzy Breit (LU) def. Kristie Cavanagh (LC) 6-3, 6-1
Lehigh - Lafayette Post-Match Extra
