Lancers Down UMass Boston in Little East Conference Match

HOLDEN, Mass. – The Worcester State University Lancers downed the UMass-Boston Beacons 8-1 Saturday (Sep. 17) evening in Little East Conference (LEC) action at the Wachusett Regional High School tennis courts.

The Lancers began the match with a doubles sweep as the Lancers plotted the scores 8-3, 8-5, and 8-5 on the chalk.

Worcester State's Lauren Taylor (Attleboro, Mass.) and Nathalie Khafaga (Auburn, Mass.) sought out the first point of the day, as they defeated UMass-Boston's Kristy Garcia (Miami, Fla.) and Katie Gauthier (W. Boylston, Mass.) 8-3.

The second point for the Lancers came from partners Shelby Jankins (W. Brookfield, Mass.) and Alexis Silk (Greenfield, Mass.) at the No. 1 slot, while the final point for the doubles sweep came from Rachel Green (Worcester, Mass.) and Isalbel Badeau (Cumberland, R.I.) at No. 3 doubles.

Going into the singles competition ahead 3-0, the Lancers stood strong and continued their momentum into a 5-1 advantage at singles.

"The doubles team dominated today and we kept the momentum going for singles," commented head coach Courteney Blais.

Taylor registered the first singles point at No. 2 doubles, as she defeated Kathleen Conroy (Quincy, Mass.) 6-3, 6-1. The Beacons marked their sole point at the No. 6 singles spot as Kelsey Shea (W. Bridgewater, Mass.) downed Badeau 6-1, 6-2.

The game point came moments later when Silk defeated Gautheir 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3 singles to put the Lancers up 5-1.

Next to finish was Green who triumphed over Meghan Erickson (Hubbardston, Mass.) 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 5 singles spot.

Khafaga put up a fight against UMass Boston's Vicky Woytowicz (Springfield, Mass.) as the two battled it out in the third set, in turn, with Khafaga on top 6-2. Jankins dug deep for her win today as Garcia and she went back-and-forth at the No. 1 singles spot, forcing a third-set decision.

The three Lancers (Green, Khafaga, and Jankins) closed out with three wins to result in the 8-1 final score.

Next up, the Lancers (3-2, 1-1 LEC) will travel across-town to compete against Clark University on Thursday (Sep. 22) before returning to conference play on Saturday (Sep. 24) against Southern Maine. The Beacons (1-3, 0-1 LEC) next match is scheduled for Tuesday (Sep. 20) when they take on LEC opponent, Salem State University on their home courts.