HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 6, 2007) – After starting the season with 10 straight victories, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's tennis team suffered its second loss in a row as the Ducks dropped an 8-1 decision to Ithaca College on Saturday at the Stevens Tennis Courts in Hoboken, N.J. With the victory, the Bombers (8-0, 7-0 Empire 8) locked up the top overall seed for the postseason tournament, which will be held October 13-14 in Rochester, N.Y.

At No. 1 doubles, senior Dana Bacalla and freshman Allyson Kingman dropped a tough 9-8 (7-4) match to junior Alyssa Jaffe (Montvale, N.J.) and sophomore Devra Reiman (Maplewood, N.J.). In the second-doubles position, juniors Whitney Bender and Rebecca Ryba fell in a tiebreaker to freshmen Melanie Cohen (Ambler, Pa.) and Melissa Nunez (Rockaway, N.J.). The score of that match was 9-8 (7-5) in favor of Ithaca. The Bombers swept doubles action with an 8-2 decision in the third flight as senior Rachel Gunderson (Bemus Point, N.Y.) and Natalie Jenereski (Butler, Pa.) defeated sophomore Natalie Schloeder and freshman Kendra Appleheimer.

Bacalla earned the lone point for Stevens (10-2, 6-1) with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Cohen at first singles. Gunderson topped Bender 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 at No. 2 singles. In the third-singles position, Jaffe handed Kingman her first dual match loss of the season as she earned a 6-1, 6-4 victory. Reiman was a straight-sets winner (6-2, 6-3) over Appleheimer at fourth singles. Sophomore Sarah Hollis (Fairfield, Conn.) knocked off Ryba 6-2, 6-2 in the fifth flight. Jenereski dropped a total of three games in her 6-1, 6-2 win over Schloeder at No. 6 singles.

The Ducks will be right back in action on Sunday as they close out Empire 8 regular-season play with a home match against Elmira College at noon. Stevens is locked into the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament regardless of the outcome of Sunday's match.