New London, N.H. – Less than 48 hours after collecting their first win of the season, the Clark University women's tennis team dropped a pair of non-conference matches on Monday afternoon at Colby-Sawyer College's Kelsey Courts.
The Cougars dropped a marathon match that last north of three hours to Nichols College (1-2) as the Bison held off a valiant effort, posting a 7-2 win in a hotly contested match.
The Cougars (1-2) then fell to the host Chargers (2-1), 5-0 in a match called due to darkness.
Two of the three doubles matches went to tiebreakers, including at No. 1 where the Bison duo of Anna Dyakiv and Jillian McQuiggan knocked off Gaby Suriano (San Salvador, El Salvador) and Phoebe Hughes (Parkland, Fla.), 9-8 (7-5).
That score was nearly identical to the result at No. 3 doubles where Megan Woodruff and Erin Rivers outlasted the Cougars' Martha Ziemer (Arlington, Mass.) and Kera Snyder (Portland, Maine), 9-8 (7-3).
Clark did take No. 2 doubles, as Maggie Swann (Portland, Maine) and Sarah Sachs (North Branford, Conn.) took care of Alexandra Cifone and Lindsay Benoit, 8-3.
Suriano and Dyakiv, the reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference player of the year, battled at No. 1 singles, with Suriano holding on for a 6-3, 1-6, 10-7 three-set win.
Another hotly contested battle took place at No. 4, where McQuiggan survived, taking down Swann, 6-3, 0-6, 10-6.
In the nightcap, the Chargers swept doubles play as Claire Toffey and Liz Lincoln had an 8-6 victory in the No. 1 slot over Hughes and Suriano while Donna Gordon and Ashlyn Ramsay took care of their opponents Sachs and Swann 8-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Oxana Tkachenko and Charlotte Horton also came away with an 8-2 victory at third doubles over senior Lauren Ziemer (Arlington, Mass.) and freshman Rebecca Kravetz (Wayland, Mass.).
With the sunlight starting to fade, Colby-Sawyer was able to clinch the fourth and fifth points at No. 4 and No. 5 singles. Toffey cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win at the fourth flight over Ziemer, while Tkachenko earned a 6-0, 6-2 win in the No. 5 spot over Kravetz.
Clark will return to the courts on Wednesday when they host Worcester State in their home opener. First serve is slated for 5:00 p.m.
