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Saint Francis University Athletics

Tennis NEC Championships
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Saint Francis U SFU
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Winner Sacred Heart SHU
Saint Francis U SFU
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Final
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Sacred Heart SHU
Winner

Match Recap: Women's Tennis | | David Halstead

Women's Tennis closes season with 4-1 defeat to Sacred Heart in NEC Championships quarterfinals

West Windsor, N.J. – Senior captain Stephanie Miller (Washington, D.C./St. John's College High School) closed her stellar four-year Saint Francis career with a dominating singles win, but fifth-seeded SFU fell to fourth-seeded Sacred Heart 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the NEC Championships on Thursday at the Mercer County Tennis Center.

Miller picked up her seventh-straight singles win this season with a 6-0, 6-0 dispatching of SHU's Keira Tobia at No. 3 singles. Miller also teamed up with Laura Gutierrez (Bogota, Colombia/Cibercolegio UCN) in No. 1 doubles for a 7-5 victory over the Pioneers' Brianne Lauria and Lauren Santarsiero.

"Stephanie made a statement that she is exactly what we would want a senior tennis player to leave as a legacy at SFU," Head Coach Lisa Swope said. "All four of these girls fought really hard losing in three sets and losing in a tiebreak. It couldn't get any closer. Despite all the adversity they have had this season, they can hold their heads up high for being the fighters that they are."

In No. 1 singles, Gutierrez bounced back after dropping a first set tiebreak to take a 6-7, 6-1, 3-0 lead before the match was ended due to Sacred Heart securing the overall match win. Lauria defeated SFU's Lucia Seigford (Madrid, Spain/Mirasur) at No. 2 singles 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 for the match's clinching point.

The Red Flash's Romina Cutipa (Huancayo, Peru/San Juan Bosco) was trailing Santarsiero at No. 4 singles 7-5, 5-4 when the match concluded. The Pioneers won No. 5 and No. 6 singles by default.

Sacred Heart's No. 2 doubles team of Sabrina Navarro and Olivia Podsiebierski won over Seigford and Cutipa in a narrow 7-6 decision. The Pioneers took No. 3 doubles by default to secure the doubles point.
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