BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons University women's tennis team was defeated by visiting Emerson College, 6-3, this afternoon on Daly Courts in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-11 on the season, while the Lions improve to 9-7.
Junior Alisha Parikh (San Francisco, Calif.) was a double-winner with wins at number one singles and doubles to lead Emerson. Parikh paired with classmate Sabrina Jacobs (Demarest, N.J.) to earn an 8-3 victory over the Simmons junior tandem of Nickie Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam/Saint Joseph Preparatory (Mass.)) and Marissa Johnson (Norwell, Mass.). Parikh went on to defeat Nguyen at first singles, 6-1, 6-3, to give Emerson a 5-0 lead to secure the dual match victory. Jacobs also earned a win in singles play, defeating senior Paola Rios (Miami, Fla.), 6-4, 6-4 at number two singles.
The Lions third double-winner for the afternoon was first year Eliana Flores-Barber (Long Beach, Calif.), who teamed with classmate Annie Woodbury (Salinas, Calif.) to post an 8-3 decision over Rios and senior Michelle Medici (South Portland, Maine) at second doubles to give the visitors a 3-0 sweep in doubles play. Flores-Barber defeated Medici in straight sets at number three singles by a count of 6-4, 6-0.
First year Thea Nagle (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and junior Alex Weingarten (Carlsbad, Calif.) combined to defeat the first year Simmons duo of Sarah Mariski (Portland, Maine) and Megan McKeever (Stamford, Conn.), 8-2, to contribute to the doubles sweep.
The Sharks scored all of their points in singles play at the lower part of the lineup. Johnson dropped just three games in a 6-1, 6-2 win at fourth singles over Nagle, while Mariski outplayed Weingarten by a count of 6-3, 6-3 at fifth singles. Sophomore Carrie St. Peter (Chester, N.H.) battled sophomore Cassia Burns (Tewksbury, Mass.) to a 6-3 win in the first set, before outlasting her Emerson counterpart in the second set with a 7-6 margin following a 7-4 tie-breaker.
Simmons returns to action on Saturday, April 20 when it heads to New Haven, Conn. to take on University of New Haven at 12:00 p.m., while the Lions travel to Springfield, Mass. to play Springfield College on April 16 at 4:00 p.m.
