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.  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.  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.  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).  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.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's tennis team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenTennis on Twitter.