Worcester State Women’s Tennis Sweeps Southern Maine, 9-0

PORTLAND, Maine – The Worcester State University Women's Tennis team swept the Southern Maine Huskies Saturday afternoon, improving their overall record to 3-3, and 1-1 in the Little East Conference.

Not only were they successful in the sweep today, but senior Cassandra Gonclaves (Ludlow, Mass.) reached the 25-point club today with her doubles and singles wins today.

"The team showed up to play today," said head coach Courteney Blais. "It was great to watch the girls control the court and the outcome was a solid win".

The Lancers played solid sets of doubles this afternoon, as they had 8-4 wins down the line. Senior Gonclaves and sophomore Olivia Budney (Webster, Mass.) finished the round first, defeating Southern Maine's Molly Gallagher and Kara Weiske. Worcester State's junior Shelby Jankins (W. Brookfield, Mass.) and senior Megan Shepard (Middletown, Conn.) finished up the doubles sweep defeating Katie Quinn and Elizabeth Martin.

As the Lancers were ahead, 3-0 after the doubles competition, they took deep strides to keep their winning streak going – and did so after dominating the Huskies 6-0 in the singles competition.

Shepard edged Southern Maine's opponent 7-5 in the first set, and then saw the light in the second as she beat Katie Quinn 6-1.

Worcester State kept the margin high, with the exception of sophomore Nathalie Khafaga (Auburn, Mass.) who kept her opponent within range. Khafaga won her first set, but needed a third set to break the deal. She ended up coming back in a third set super tie breaker after being down 3-6 and won seven consecutive points to walk away with the 10-6 win.

The tennis team is back in action on Tuesday as they take on Little East Conference opponent, Salem State, which will be played at Clark University at 3:30 p.m.

Singles Competition

1. Shelby Jankins (WSU) def. Molly Gallagher (SMU), 6-1, 6-3
2. Megan Shepard (WSU) def. Katie Quinn (SMU), 7-5, 6-1
3. Alexis Silk (WSU) def. Elizabeth Martin (SMU), 6-1, 6-3
4. Nathalie Khafaga (WSU) def. Emily Estes (SMU), 6-3, 4-6, 10-6
5. Cassie Gonclaves (WSU) def. Rikki Demoranville (SMU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Rachel Green (WSU) def. Karra Weiske (SMU), 6-0, 6-1

Doubles Competition

1. Megan Shepard/Shelby Jankins (WSU) def. Katie Quinn/Elizabeth Martin (SMU), 8-4
2. Nathalie Khafaga/Rachel Green (WSU) def. Rikki Demoranville/Emily Estes (SMU), 8-4
3. Cassandra Gonclaves/Olivia Budney (WSU) def. Molly Gallagher/Kara Weiske (SMU), 8-4

Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1), Singles (1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6)