COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's tennis team lost to Northeast 10 Conference leader Adelphi University, 5-2, on Saturday in the Tarrant Recreation Center. The Purple Knights captured the doubles point against a Panther squad that had not lost a doubles match in league play this season, with the Purple and Gold downing a nationally-ranked Adelphi tandem in the No. 1 position.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (6-7, 1-6 NE10), Adelphi (7-1, 7-0 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Jedidah Xu (Ellington, Conn./Ellington), 2 wins
• Sophomore Lucy McPherson (Vancouver, British Columbia/Magee Secondary School), 1 win
• First-year Olivia Larsen (Riverview, New Brunswick/Riverview), 1 win
• First-year Ana Maria Ricaurte (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Colegio Alemán Humboldt de Guayaquil), 1 win

THE ACTION

• Junior Emma Gredenhag (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) and sophomore Annabelle Aldrete (Wichita, Kan./Andover eCademy) lost their opening doubles match, 6-3, in the third spot.
• At No. 1, McPherson and Xu dispatched Adelphi senior Katarina Liedback and junior Roisin Boyd, who entered the day ranked 14th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national poll and were No. 1 in the East Region, by a 6-2 count. Boyd and Liedback were 13-1 this school year, previously losing only in the first round of the ITA Cup after sweeping to an ITA East Regional Championship crown. They had won seven straight during dual matches, and Saturday was their worst loss since a 6-1 setback on Sept. 18, 2024, against eventual 2024 NE10 Championship winner University of New Haven. The defeat was also Adelphi's first doubles loss in NE10 action this year, after starting 19-0.
• With the doubles point on their racquets, Larsen and Ricaurte followed suit with a 6-2 victory in the second spot against a Panther tandem that was 6-0 in NE10 play, having surrendered only five games in its last four wins combined. Saint Michael's carried the 1-0 lead into singles.
• The top half of the Adelphi singles lineup featured regionally-ranked players. Gredenhag lost at No. 3 to Boyd, who was 15th in the latest ITA East Region rankings, before Xu put the hosts back in front thanks to a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4.
• Larsen was felled by the 11th-ranked regional player at No. 2 before McPherson lost to the seventh-ranked Liedback, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, in the top spot, giving Adelphi the lead for good. The visitors closed the match by dropping only seven total games in straight-set wins at No. 5 and 6.

NEXT MATCH

• Friday at Union (N.Y.) College, 2:30 p.m.