WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Daemen College women's tennis came oh-so-close to pulling off an upset of one of the East Coast Conference's perennial powers today, ultimately falling 5-4 to the University of the District of Columbia at the UDC Tennis Courts.
Daemen was seeking its first-ever win over a UDC program which has qualified for conference tournament play in each of the last five seasons, and one that was picked third in this year's ECC preseason poll. Â The loss drops the Wildcats to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in ECC play, whlie the Firebirds improve to 2-1, both overall and in the league.
With Daemen trailing 4-3, the outcome of the match came down to a pair of singles matchups which needed three sets to decide. Â Daemen sophomore
Jessica Robins (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) came out victorious over UDC's Estefania Castrillon (Bogota, Columbia) in fourth singles, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to pull the Wildcats even. Â But, 2015 first-team All-ECC pick Dominika Hadnadova (Sala, Slovakia) held off Daemen senior
Karli Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y./SUNY Geneseo) in first singles, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 to deliver the match-clinching point for the Firebirds.
Shaylah Iverson (Canandaigua, N.Y./Naples) picked up a win in fifth singles over UDC's Arielle Ward (Springfield, Mass.), nearly blanking the UDC senior (6-0, 6-1). Â It was her second singles win since re-joining the team after a two-year hiatus while attending nursing school.
Daemen also scored points in sixth singles and third doubles by default.
Daemen continues its three-match road trip this weekend with a non-conference bout against Philadelphia University tomorrow.
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