By Jim Fenton

PLYMOUTH, N.H. -- The Bridgewater State University women's tennis team is headed to the Little East Conference tournament on a seven-match winning streak.

The Bears finished the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 7-0 victory over Plymouth State University at the Holderness School Courts, their third shutout win of the season.

BSU (9-4) went 7-1 in the Little East and will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament, which opens Tuesday. The Bears have a first-round bye and will host a semifinal-round match on Thursday against an opponent to be determined.

The winning streak is the longest by BSU since it had 11 consecutive victories in 2021.

The Bears have now defeated Plymouth State six straight times and own a 19-5 lead in the series. The Panthers finish the season 3-8 and went 2-6 in the Little East.

BSU won two of the three doubles matches to secure a point and swept all six singles matches.

The first doubles team of sophomores Aislyn Kelliher (Plymouth, Mass.) and Morgan Smith (Taunton, Mass.) prevailed, 6-1, as did the No. 3 doubles team of junior Samantha Bettencourt (Tiverton, R.I.) and junior Fiona Clancy (Middleboro, Mass.).

Sophomore Emma Gibney (New Bedford, Mass.) took No. 1 singles, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) while Kelliher was the winner at No. 2 singles, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

At No. 3 singles, Smith was a 6-2, 6-2 winner while sophomore Sarah Pothier (Rochester, Mass.) took No. 4 singles, 6-4, 6-1.

Sophomore Ava Alves (Taunton, Mass.) won at No. 5 singles, 6-0, 6-3, and Bettencourt won at No. 6 singles, 6-1, 6-0.

Rhode Island College is the No. 1 seed in the Little East and will have a bye with BSU. The Anchorwomen clinched the regular-season title outright with a win over UMass Boston Saturday.

UMass Boston is the No. 3 seed after finishing a game behind the Bears at 6-2.