BOX SCORE Flash Points:

• SFU Women's Tennis moved to 2-0 in conference play with a 5-2 victory over Sacred Heart on Friday.
• The Red Flash won the doubles point and four of the five singles matches it played.
• Bode, Seigford and Tamarkin contributed to singles and doubles wins.
• The Red Flash is now 3-9 and will travel to FDU and LIU Brooklyn for NEC matches next weekend.

MONROEVILLE, Pa. – The Saint Francis Women's Tennis team moved to 2-0 in NEC play with a 5-2 victory over Sacred Heart on Friday at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.  The Red Flash won the doubles point and four of the five singles matches it played.  SFU improved to 3-9 overall, while Sacred Heart dropped to 4-8.

"I thought it was a very professional performance from our girls today," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "We came out with some good energy in doubles and played sound and solid tennis. I hope we can take great confidence from this and be that decisive with our next doubles matches as well."
 
At the top doubles spot, sophomore Laura Gutierrez (Bogota, Colombia/Cibercolegio UCN) and freshman Nastasia Tamarkin (Washington, D.C./School Without Walls) combined against the Pioneers' Brianne Lauria and Olivia Podsiebierski.  The Red Flash duo dominated for a 6-0 victory.  The duo improved to 6-5 this Spring.
 
In the match at No. 2, junior Raksha Bode (Reunion, Fla./Florida Virtual School) and sophomore Lucia Seigford (Madrid, Spain/Mirasur) battled Sacred Heart's Sabrina Navarro and Keira Tobia.  The SFU pair earned a 6-3 win to clinch the doubles point.  Bode and Seigford improved to 3-2 in dual matches.
 
The Pioneers won the match at No. 3 doubles by default due to no SFU player available.
 
At No. 1 singles, Seigford met SHU's Lauria.  The SFU sophomore took the first set, 6-3.  She completed the sweep with a 6-4 victory in the next set.  Seigford claimed her third win of the Spring.
 
Bode took on the Pioneers' Tobia at No. 3.  The Red Flash junior won the first set, 6-3.  She repeated that performance in the second set to earn the sweep.  Bode now has five wins this Spring.
 
Tamarkin competed at No. 4 against SHU's Adrianne Alfonso.  The Red Flash rookie took the first set, 6-2.  She dominated the second set, winning 6-1, to complete the straight-set victory.  Tamarkin moved to 7-4 in dual matches.
 
At No. 5, Miller took on the Pioneers' Navarro.  After falling 6-4 in the opening set, Miller claimed the next set, 6-2.  In the final super-tiebreaker set, Miller came out on top, 10-5, to move to 7-4 this Spring.
 
In the match at No. 2, Gutierrez faced Sacred Heart's Podsiebierski.  However, the SFU sophomore fell 6-3, 6-2. 
 
Sacred Heart won the match at No. 6 singles by default due to no SFU player available.

"In singles I thought we handled the big situations much better than we have in the past," said Castille. "We have worked on handling the big moments better and I'm glad we took a stride with that. I'm still hoping we can do better with keeping our level the same for the duration of the match and having less patches where we lose focus. We look forward to next weekend with two strong conference matches."
 
The Red Flash continues NEC play next weekend with a pair of matches.  Saint Francis will travel to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, March 31 at 6 p.m. SFU will visit LIU Brooklyn on Sunday, April 1 for a 3 p.m. match.
 
Doubles:
1. Gutierrez/Tamarkin(SFU) def. Lauria/Podsiebierski(SHU), 6-0.
2. Bode/Seigford(SFU) def. Navarro/Tobia(SHU), 6-2
3. Alfonso/Crivei(SHU) wins by default (No SFU player)
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
 
Singles:
1. Seigford(SFU) def. Lauria(SHU), 6-3, 6-4.
2. Podsiebierski(SHU) def. Gutierrez(SFU), 6-3, 6-2.
3. Bode(SFU) def. Tobia(SHU), 6-3, 6-3.
4. Tamarkin(SFU) def. Alfonso(SHU), 6-2, 6-1.
5. Miller(SFU) def. Navarro(SHU), 4-6, 6-1, 1-0(5).
6. Ruiz(SHU) wins by default (No SFU player)
Order of Finish: 6,2,3,1,4,5