Women’s Tennis Defeats Penn College 6-1
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's tennis team started October with a victory, as the Lions defeated non-conference opponent Penn College 6-1 on Friday afternoon at the Adler Tennis Courts.
Penn State Altoona (7-5) swept doubles play to secure the first point in the match, then proceeded to win five out of six in singles to hand Penn College (0-4) a five-point defeat.
In the No. 1 doubles match, the duo of Caitlin Blessel (Saint Marys, PA/Saint Marys)/Rachel Stricek (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) won 6-1 for their third victory together this season. Lexi Colaianni (Pittsburgh, PA/Kiski Area)/Daniel Fulton (Milford, DE/Milford) picked up their team-leading seventh doubles win together in the No. 2 match, where they prevailed 6-4. In the No. 3 spot, the tandem of Casey Burinskas (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy)/Mara Del Valle (Colombia/Walt Whitman) blanked their opponents by a score of 6-0 for their first win together, with the victory also representing Del Valle's first collegiate doubles win.
Penn State Altoona kept rolling in the singles portion of the match. Blessel defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 1 match for her second win of the year, and Stricek came out on top, 6-2, 6-1, for her eighth singles triumph. Abigail Morgan (Orrville, OH/Orrville) won 6-0, 6-3 in the No. 4 singles match for her sixth win, and Colaianni earned a 6-0, 6-1 decision over her opponent in the No. 5 match for her team-best 10th singles victory. Lydia Um (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) nabbed her first win of the season in the No. 6 match, where she handled her opponent by a 6-0, 6-0 decision.
Penn State Altoona women's tennis returns to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play for its next match, as the Lions will travel to Greensburg Racquet Club on Sunday, October 6, to face conference foe Pitt-Greensburg at 1 p.m. That match will wrap up Penn State Altoona's AMCC regular-season schedule.
Notes: The Penn State Altoona women's tennis team's previously postponed match on the road against non-conference foe Juniata College has been rescheduled to Monday, October 14, at 5 p.m.
