Hamline Takes Down Franklin Pierce, 9-0

Ravens force three tiebreakers but can’t pull out a victory against the Pipers

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 17, 2008) – Despite forcing three matches into tiebreakers, Franklin Pierce University dropped a 9-0 non-conference women’s tennis match to Hamline University in Orlando, Fla. on Monday afternoon.

Junior captains Kelly Gust (East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks) and Liz Gunderson (New Prague, Minn./New Prague) led the Pipers with a pair of wins each. The duo began the day by combining for an 8-1 first-doubles victory, and both players won their respective singles matches in straight sets. Gust defeated freshman Lauren Smilovich (Meriden, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy), 6-3, 6-1, while Gunderson defeated sophomore Mariana Zahora (New Ringgold, Pa./Tamaqua), 6-2, 6-2.

Despite the loss, the Ravens nearly took three different matches that needed tiebreakers to decide a winner. At third singles, sophomore Bianca LaPointe (Plainfield, Conn./Saint Bernard) came back from a one-set deficit to force a tiebreaker before falling, 10-5, to Sara Mitambo (Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle) in extra play. Smilovich and LaPointe took their second-doubles match the distance before falling by two points, 7-5, in a tiebreaker, while sophomore Monica Lavertu (Berlin, N.H./Berlin) and junior Francesca Santoro (Medford, Mass./Medford) had the same fate in third doubles play.

Franklin Pierce (0-7, 0-5 NE-10) continues its Spring Break trip on Wednesday, as the Ravens take on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in Orlando, Fla., beginning at noon. Hamline (3-4, 0-1 MIAC) faces off with Augustana College tomorrow at noon.

Hamline 9, Franklin Pierce 0

Doubles: 

1.  Kelly Gust/Liz Gunderson (HU) def. Mariana Zahora/Erin Whyman (FP), 8-1

2.  Sara Mitambo/Kristen Kiemele (HU) def. Lauren Smilovich/Bianca LaPointe (FP), 9-8 (7-5)

3.  Ashley Johnson/Kate Burnevik (HU) def. Monica Lavertu/Francesca Santoro (FP), 9-8 (7-5)

Singles:

1.  Gust (HU) def. Smilovich (FP), 6-3, 6-1

2.  Gunderson (HU) def. Zahora (FP), 6-2, 6-2

3.  Mitambo (HU) def. LaPointe (FP), 6-2, 2-6, (10-5)

4.  Kiemele (HU) def. Whyman (FP), 6-3, 6-1

5. Johnson (HU) def. Santoro, 6-4, 6-2

6.  Burnevik (HU) def. Kathleen Judge (FP), 6-4, 6-4