WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (October 13, 2018) – Stevens Institute of Technology women's tennis team won the Empire 8 Conference Title Saturday in thrilling fashion over No. 1 Nazareth College 5-4 at Washington Township Tennis Club . Stevens and Nazareth were in a back and forth affair with the deciding point coming down to second singles flight. Senior Captain Julia Earl delivered by showing true grit and defeating Elizabeth Karstedt in three sets. The Sparta, N.J. native came back after dropping the first set in tiebreaker, she sealed the win by taking the next two sets in convincing fashion 6-3, 6-2.

"I could not be prouder of this entire team for constantly fighting this season to be the best we could be. I would not have wanted to win this honor with anyone else," Julia Earl said. "It's a truly incredible feeling knowing how much work every single person on this team put in all season and having it completely pay off in the end."

It was an entertaining Championship Final from start to finish, Stevens captured the momentum early. The Ducks took two of the three doubles flight to give them a 2-1 lead heading into the singles. Freshman Agatha Malinowski and junior Isabella Calandra posted another convincing win in the number one doubles position. The duo defeated Brooke Murphy and Erin Schantz 8-1 and improve to 11-0 on the season. The Golden Flyers got on the board by taking the second doubles flight 8-3 but freshman Alexis Fuda and senior Sydney Zoretic responded with an impressive win. Trailing 6-7, the number three doubles team came up big to win the flight 8-7 with a tiebreak win of 7-5.

Stevens just needed three more points to clinch the conference title, but Nazareth did not make it easy. Alexis Fuda improved the Ducks lead by taking care of business in the fourth singles flight, she won 6-1, 6-2 over Maelah Nadeau. Sophomore Makenna Sargis put the fourth point on the board for the Ducks by beating Lauren Carr 6-3, 6-2 in the number six position. Sophomore Chelsea Braithwaite, Malinowski, and Calandra were determined to deliver the clinching point but came up a little short in their respective singles flights allowing the Golden Flyers to even the score at four. But thanks to Julia Earl's late match heroics the Ducks clinched their first conference title in program history since joining the Empire 8 in 2007. Head Coach Steve Gachko commended the overall team effort and believes that was the difference in today's match.

"I'm so proud of our girls today in clinching the program's first ever Empire 8 conference title. It was a total team effort, and everyone played an important role in helping us get there," said Head Coach Steve Gachko. "We are excited to build upon this heading into the Spring and competing in our first NCAA tournament next May!"

The Ducks finished the Fall season on an eight-match winning streak and improve to 10-1, the Golden Flyers dropped to 10-2. Stevens Institute of Technology women's tennis team will be back in action next semester.

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