No. 5 Lancers Upset No. 4 Plymouth State to Advance to LEC Semifinals

HOLDERNESS, N.H. – The No. 5 Worcester State Lancers defeated the No. 4 Plymouth State Panthers Tuesday (Oct. 18) afternoon in a Little East Conference (LEC) quarterfinal matchup at the Holderness School Courts.

With the win, the Lancers (7-6, 5-3 LEC) will advance to face the top-seeded Bridgewater State (9-5, 7-1 LEC) on Thursday (Oct. 20) at 3:00 p.m. (TOURNAMENT BRACKET)

Worcester State came out with an early 3-0 start as they swept the Panthers in doubles competition.  Head coach Courteney Blais commented,  "Our doubles teams came out strong and pressured our opponents with big serves and aggressive net play."

At the No. 1 flight Shelby Jankins (W. Brookfield, Mass.) and Nathalie Khafaga (Auburn, Mass.) defeated their opponents 8-4. With the doubles win, Khafaga to earned her 25^th career win, and joins the Lancers' 25-point club as a sophomore.

At the No. 2 spot, Lauren Taylor (Attleboro, Mass.) and Alexis Silk (Greenfield, Mass.) downed their opponents, Alex Dunn (Jaffrey, N.H.) and Megan Wheeler (Manchester, N.H.) 8-6. Worcester's Rachel Green (Worcester, Mass.) and Isabel Badeau (Cumberland, R.I.) put up a fight at the No. 3 slot as they completed the doubles sweep with a 9-8 win on a 7-4 tiebreaker.

The Lancers only needed two singles wins to capture the win, and did just that at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Silk defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-1, and then Taylor clinched the win on a 6-4, 6-4 win over Megan Wallace (Moultonbourough, N.H.).

Plymouth State was able to score one point throughout the match when Wheeler defeated Badeau 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 6 singles spot.

"Lauren and Lexi played confident singles and solidified the team win for us," said Blias. "Nathalie and Shelby were on the right track, winning both their first sets, but didn't get to finish with the clinch."

Singles Competition

1. Irene Irembe (PSU) vs. Shelby Jankins (WOR) 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
2. Lauren Taylor (WOR) def. Megan Wallace (PSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Alexis Silk (WOR) def. Kelley Corson (PSU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Rachel Gustafson (PSU) vs. Nathalie Khafaga (WOR) 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
5. Alex Dunn (PSU) vs. Rachel Green (WOR) 5-6, 0-0, unfinished
6. Megan Wheeler (PSU) def. Isabel Badeau (WOR) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles Competition

1. Shelby Jankins/Nathalie Khafaga (WOR) def. Irene Ireme/Rachel Gustafon (PSU) 8-4
2. Lauren Taylor/Alexis Silk (WOR) def. Alex Dunn/Megan Wheeler (PSU) 8-6
3. Rachel Green/Isabel Badeau (WOR) def. Megan Wallace/Kelley Corson (PSU) 9-8 (7-4)