ROCHESTER, N.Y. (September 8, 2018) - The Stevens Institute of Technology women's tennis team dropped their first match of year to Nazareth College in an Empire 8 showdown on Sunday on Nazareth's Outdoor Courts. The Ducks put forth a valiant effort but were not able to complete the comeback and lost by the slimmest of margins, 5-4. The contest was a rematch of last year's Empire 8 Championship match.

The loss moves Stevens to 2-1 on season and 1-1 in the conference. Nazareth College improves to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in Empire 8 play. Freshman Agatha Malinowski and junior Isabella Calandra got the Ducks on the board with a convincing 8-2 win at No.1 doubles over Erin Schantz and Brooke Murphy. The Golden Flyers were able to capitalize in a crucial tiebreaker in the No. 3 doubles match that gave them an early 2-1 advantage heading into singles flights.

Stevens refused to go down quietly and evened the match at three after key singles wins by sophomore Makenna Sargis and freshman Agatha Malinowski. Sophomore Chelsea Braithwaite won in convincing fashion against Brooke Murphy in the No. 5 singles spot to push the score to 4-3 in the Ducks favor. Seniors Victoria Piskarev and Julia Earl lost competitive match ups in the No. 4 and No. 2 spot, respectively, clinching the match for the host team. The Ducks came up short but are taking away a lot of positives as they move forward.

 "It's always hard to lose a close match, but this was a great learning experience and stepping stone for the season," said senior captain Julia Earl. "These matches are what will make our team better. [It] gives us things to improve upon in practice, and help us win those tough matches moving forward."

Up Next: The women's tennis team will be back on their home courts next weekend, September 22^nd, when they take on Alfred University in an Empire 8 conference match up.

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