BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Third-seeded Bridgewater State University posted a 5-x victory over #6 UMass Boston in the opening round of the 2017 Little East Conference (LEC) Women's Tennis Tournament.
The Bears (11-5) advance to take on #2 UMass Dartmouth in the tournament semifinals on Thursday afternoon at UMD. The match is slated to get underway at 2:30 PM. The visiting Beacons end the season with an overall record of 4-7.
Bridgewater led 3-0 after sweeping the doubles matches. Junior Rachel Tarantino (Mansfield, Mass.) and sophomore Angelique Gray (Osterville, Mass.) cruised to an 8-1 win at number three, while the senior tandem of Bojana Roman (Somerset, Mass.) and Alison Scagnelli (Sutton, Mass.) posted an 8-4 triumph at the second flight. Seniors Alisha Silva (Taunton, Mass.) and Amanda Strickland (Plymouth, Mass.) capped off doubles play with an 8-5 decision at the top spot.
In singles play, freshman Olivia Sweeney (Taunton, Mass.) staked the Bears to a 4-0 lead as she won by retirement at the fifth flight. Sweeney won the first set, 6-0, before her opponent was forced to retire due to injury. Tarantino then clinched match with the deciding fifth point as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 straight set win at number six.
The remainder of the singles matches were left unfinished with the Bears up a set at the second, third and fourth flights. UMass was up a set at number one.