Women's Tennis | 10/12/2008 10:58:33 PM

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HOBOKEN, NJ - The RIT women's tennis team was defeated in the Empire 8 Championship finals on Sunday afternoon, held at Stevens Institute of Technology.  The Tigers, seeded second, lost to the top seed, the Ithaca Bombers, 5-1.

The Tigers started off with a struggle in doubles, losing all three points.  At number one, senior Brianne Francisco (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) and sophomore Amanda Berg (Mendham, NJ/Mendham) (Mendham, NJ/Mendham) battled out a close match, taking it to 6-6, when Ithaca grabbed the last two games to close it out at 8-6.  At second doubles, senior Kseniya Klyachko (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and junior Alexis Stanley (Vestal, NY/Vestal) (Vestal, NY/Vestal) were defeated 8-3, while seniors JoJo Cash (Rochester, NY/Brighton) and Sara Paduano (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) fell at third doubles 8-2. 

Berg met a better fate at first singles, with an easy 6-1, 6-0 win.  Sophomore Michele Caporali (Endicott/Union Endicott) (Endicott/Union Endicott) was defeated at fourth singles, falling 6-0, 6-2.  The match was halted early after Stanley took a tough loss at third, losing 6-1, 6-1.

The win qualifies the Bombers for the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships.

The Tigers are back in action when they travel to Cornell University to compete in the New York State Women's Tennis Championship Friday through Sunday at the Reis Tennis Center.