Nazarteth blanks Houghton to reach E8 tennis final
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Top-seeded Nazareth swept all three doubles matches Friday on the way to a 5-0 victory over fourth-seeded Houghton in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for women's tennis. The Golden Flyers will play second-seeded Stevens in Saturday's championship match at 10 a.m. at Nazareth.
The Golden Flyers, seeking their first conference title in women's tennis since 2002, remained unbeaten at 10-0. They will look to defeat Stevens for the second time this season. The Ducks downed St. John Fisher, 5-3, in the other semifinal match. The winner of the E8 Tournament gains an automatic berth to next spring's NCAA Division III Tournament. The Golden Flyers are seeking their first-ever trip to the NCAAs.
The Golden Flyers defeated Houghton for the second time this season as they were successful in all three doubles matches. Sophomore Maelah Nadea and freshman
Erin Schantz combined for an 8-3 win at first doubles and juniors
Allison Friends and
Marisa Joyce teamed up for an 8-0 win at #2 doubles. They made it a clean sweep with juniors
Elizabeth Karstedt and
Jackie Lisak winning 8-2 at #3.
Nazareth needed just two points in singles to end the match. Joyce and Lisak each won in straight sets at fifth and fourth singles respectively.