Women's Tennis Advances to Little East Championship Match

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's tennis team advanced to the Little East Conference Tournament championship game for the third straight season as the second-seeded Bears downed number three seed Salem State University, 5-2, this afternoon in tournament semifinal action at the Rosen Memorial Courts in Bridgewater.

The Bears (13-1) will take on top seed and championship game host UMass Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM. Bridgewater's only defeat this season is a 6-3 loss to the Corsairs back on October 9th. Salem ends the 2010 campaign with a record of 10-3.

Bridgewater led 2-1 after doubles play as the Bears received wins from seniors Lauren Donnelly (Centerville, Mass.) and Jessica Francis (West Barnstable, Mass.) at the first flight (8-5), as well as freshman Jenna Williamson (Ludlow, Mass.) and sophomore Lauren Hopp (Dartmouth, Mass.) at number three (8-2).

Needing just three more points in singles play to win the match, Williamson, junior Bridget Murphy (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and freshman Alison Joseph (Dartmouth, Mass.) all breezed to straight set victories at the third, fifth and sixth flights respectively to send BSU to the tournament final.

Salem picked up a doubles point from juniors Lauren Turenne (Reading, Mass.) and Carly Muniz (Gloucester, Mass.) at the second flight, while Turenne also won in straight sets at number two singles.

The first and fourth singles flights were unfinished as the match was stopped as soon as Bridgewater reached five points. Donnelly was leading 6-4, 4-0 at number one singles for BSU, while Muniz was ahead, 6-3, 5-1 at the fourth spot for the Vikings.

With the win, Bridgewater State head coach Barry Gorman became the all-time winningest coach in BSU women's tennis history. Gorman, who has an impressive 37-9 (.804) record in just three seasons at the helm, surpassed Linda Smith's previous mark of 36 wins. Smith directed her Bridgewater State teams to a record of 36-16 from 1985 to 1988.

Bridgewater's 13 victories this season also ties the program single-season wins record originally set in 1986 (13-1) and equaled in 1989 (13-0).

Last season, Bridgewater dropped a 5-3 decision to Western Connecticut State University in the tournament final. In 2008, the Bears fell to UMass Dartmouth, 5-3, in the championship match. Bridgewater did win the Little East Tournament in 2007 when it was an individual flighted format.