MONROEVILLE, Pa. – The Saint Francis women's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision against Carnegie Mellon on Saturday at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.  The Tartans are ranked sixth in the ITA Division III Poll.  The Red Flash won one doubles and two singles matches.  SFU is now 1-6 this spring.
 
At the No. 2 doubles spot, freshman Raksha Bode (Reunion, Fla./Florida Virtual School) and senior Dani Gryckiewicz (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Academy) combined to compete against Brooke Tsu and Jamie Vizelman.  The Red Flash duo earned a 6-4 win to improve to 2-1 in dual matches.
 
Senior Rafaela Panizza (Jundiai, Brazil) and junior Brittany Plaszewski (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) matched up at the top spot against Minami Makino and Cori Sidell.  However, the SFU pair fell 6-1.
 
At No. 3, junior Brittini Jentz (Plano, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) and freshman Stephanie Miller (Washington, D.C./St. John's College High School) paired up against Abbey Hamstra and Nicholle Torres.  The Carnegie Mellon pair won 6-2 to clinch the point.
 
Miller also competed at the No. 5 singles position, facing the Tartans' Makino.  The Red Flash freshman came out on top in a tough opening set, 7-6, including 7-5 in the tiebreaker.  Miller completed the straight-set win with a 6-1 second set.  She picked up her second win this spring.
 
Lining up at No. 6 was Gryckiewicz, who took on Katie Lai.  The senior won a tight first set, 7-5, but Lai claimed the second set, 6-4.  In the super-tiebreaker set, Gryckiewicz earned a 10-5 win.  It was also her second singles victory this season.
 
Panizza matched up at the top spot against CMU's Tsu.  After falling 6-2 in the first set, Panizza bounced back to win the second set, 6-3.  Tsu took the third set, 6-4.
 
Plaszewski faced the Tartans' Sidell at No. 2.  However, the SFU junior dropped a 6-4, 6-2 result.  Bode competed at No. 3 against Torres.  Bode fell 6-4, 6-2.
 
At the No. 4 spot, Jentz matched up against CMU's Vizelman.  The Red Flash junior claimed the opening set, 7-5, but Vizelman answered by winning the next set, 6-4.  In the deciding set, Vizelman won 10-6.

"I was pleased with several of the girls today," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "Carnegie Mellon is one of the top teams in D3, so I knew this was going to be a good challenge for us. Many of the things we have been working on in practice, I saw some of the girls put those into play today. So that is definitely a step in the right direction. We still aren't clicking with doubles so we'll need to continue to focus on that in practice. We also need to focus on being more consistent as  team. I don't think we have all played well in a match yeat this year. So that is something we need to address and correct."
 
The Red Flash returns to action next weekend.  On Friday, Saint Francis will face Bucknell at 3 p.m. at The Club Sport and Health.  On Saturday, SFU plays Temple at 10 a.m. at the Greensburg Racquet Club. 
 
Doubles:
1. Makino/Sidell(CMU) def. Panizza/Plaszewski(SFU), 6-1
2. Bode/Gryckiewicz(SFU) def. Tsu/Vizelman(CMU), 6-4.
3. Hamstra/Torres(CMU) def. Jentz/Miller(SFU), 6-2.
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
 
Singles:
1. Tsu(CMU) def. Panizza(SFU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
2. Sidell(CMU) def. Plaszewski(SFU), 6-4, 6-2.
3. Torres(CMU) def. Bode(SFU), 6-4, 6-2.
4. Vizelman(CMU) def. Jentz(SFU), 5-7, 6-4, (10-6).
5. Miller(SFU) def. Makino(CMU), 7-6(5), 6-1.
6. Gryckiewicz(SFU) def. Lai(CMU), 7-5, 4-6, (10-5).
Order of Finish: 2,3,1,4,5,6