Flash Points:

• SFU Women's Tennis earned a 6-1 win over Niagara on Friday at the Greensburg Racquet Club.
• The Red Flash won both doubles matches and all five singles matches that it played.
• SFU improved to 5-8 this Spring.
• Saint Francis meets Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at 1 p.m. at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.

GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Saint Francis Women's Tennis team earned a 6-1 win over Niagara on Friday the Greensburg Racquet Club.  The Red Flash won both doubles matches and all five singles matches that they played.  SFU improved to 5-8 this Spring, while Niagara dropped to 1-11 on the season.
 
"I was pleased with the way the women competed today," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "As a team, our play was a little off today, but we've preached about learning to win matches when we aren't playing well and we did that today."
 
At the top doubles spot, freshman Laura Gutierrez (Bogota, Colombia/Cibercolegio UCN) and sophomore Stephanie Miller (Washington, D.C./St. John's College High School) competed against Niagara's Sharlee Deshmukh and Sansriti Ranjan.  The Red Flash duo claimed a 6-2 victory for its second dual match win.
 
Sophomore Raksha Bode (Reunion, Fla./Florida Virtual School) and freshman Lucia Seigford (Madrid, Spain/Mirasur) matched up against the Purple Eagles' Stella Peisakhova and Shannon Wong at No. 2.  The SFU pair came out on top in a tough 7-5 set for its second victory this Spring.
 
The Purple Eagles won the match at No. 3 by default due to no SFU player available.
 
"It was important for us to get the doubles point," said Castille. "That gave us some momentum going into singles. Credit to Niagara, who kept battling. We definitely had to show some mental toughness today and we were rewarded with taking all five of the singles matches played. We'll rest up and be ready for a tough conference match on Sunday."
 
Seigford met NU's Peisakhova at No. 1 singles.  Peisakhova took the first set, 6-3, but Seigford battled back to win the next set, 7-5.  In the deciding set, Seigford won 6-2 for her sixth win this Spring and second victory at No. 1.
 
Gutierrez faced Niagara's Wong at the second singles spot.  The Red Flash rookie dropped the first set, 6-4, but bounced back to win the second set, 6-2.  In the final set, Gutierrez came out on top, 6-4, for her fourth win this Spring.
 
In the match at No. 3, Miller took on the Purple Eagles' Deshmukh.  In a tight first set, Miller earned a 7-6 win, with a 7-4 decision in the tiebreaker.  She completed the straight-set victory with a 6-1 second set.  Miller is now 8-5 in dual matches.
 
Bode competed against NU's Ranjan at No. 4.  The SFU sophomore won 7-5 in a tight first frame.  She earned the sweep with a 6-2 win in the second set to improve to 7-6 this Spring.
 
Freshman Kathryn Dunleavy (Farmington Hills, Mich./Mercy) met Niagara's Ali Hutchinson at No. 5.  The Red Flash rookie took the first set, 6-3.  She dominated the second set, winning 6-0, to move to 7-6 in dual matches.
 
Niagara won the match at No. 6 due to no SFU player available.
 
The Red Flash competes in its second NEC match of the season on Sunday when it hosts Mount St. Mary's at 1 p.m. at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.  Mount St. Mary's is 3-6 this season.
 
Doubles:
1. Gutierrez/Miller(SFU) def. Deshmukh/Ranjan(NU), 6-2
2. Bode/Seigford(SFU) def. Peisakhova/Wong(NU), 7-5
3. Hutchinson/Vargas(NU) win by default (No SFU Player)
 
Singles:
1. Seigford(SFU) def. Peisakhova(NU), 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
2. Gutierrez(SFU) def. Wong(NU), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Miller(SFU) def. Deshmukh(NU), 7-6(4), 6-1 
4. Bode(SFU) def. Ranjan(NU), 7-5, 6-2  
5. Dunleavy(SFU) def. Hutchinson(NU), 6-3, 6-0
6. Vargas(NU) wins by default (No SFU Player)