By Jim Fenton
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Bridgewater State University women's tennis team started the Little East Conference schedule with a road loss.
The Bears were defeated by Rhode Island College, 8-1, at the RIC Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman Aislyn Kelliher (Plymouth, Mass.), playing at No. 6 singles, was the lone BSU winner in the next-to-last match to be decided.
The Bears fell to 2-1 overall while RIC is 3-0 and 1-0 in the conference. The Anchorwomen defeated BSU by the same score a year ago in Bridgewater.
Kelliher was a 6-1, 6-3 winner over RIC freshman Emilia Houwers (Whitewater, Wisc.). She is now 3-0 this season with two wins at No. 6 and another at No. 2.
RIC won the other five singles matches in straight sets, starting at No. 1 with fifth-year senior Lauren Macera (Cranston, R.I.), who defeated senior Madeline Von Ruden (Ashley Falls, Mass.), 6-3, 6-0.
Junior Erica Botelho (Greenville, R.I.) was a 6-3, 6-0 winner at No. 2 over graduate student Mackenzie Silveira (Middletown, R.I.) while No. 3 player freshman Arianna De Thomas (Providence, R.I.) stopped senior Meghan Lotti (Stoneham, Mass.), 6-2, 6-2.
At No. 4 singles, freshman Haylie Peacock (West Gardner, Maine) won over freshman Sarah Pothier (Rochester, Mass.), 6-1, 6-4 and senior Amara Devine (Greenville, R.I.) was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over sophomore Samantha Bettencourt (Tiverton, R.I.).
In doubles, Macera and Botelho were winners at No. 1 over Von Ruden and Silveira, 8-6, while Houwers and Peacock stopped Lotti and Bettencourt, 8-4.
At No. 3, Devine and fifth-year senior Amiah Sommer (Cumberland, R.I.) won over Pothier and freshman Morgan Smith (Taunton, Mass.), 8-1.
The Bears will take part in the Grass Court Doubles Tournament at the International Tennis Hall of Fame Tuesday at noon in Newport, R.I. They return home Saturday for a 1 p.m. Little East match with Southern Maine.
RIC is at Salve Regina on Tuesday at 3:30.