ERIE, PA – Marissa Bowles (South Orange, NJ/Columbia) won the decisive singles match at the No. 1 spot 7-6, 6-4 to help the Penn State Behrend women's tennis team defeat La Roche 5-4 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Saturday.
The Lions (4-1, 4-0 AMCC) won two of the three doubles matches, before earning wins at No. 1, 2 and 6 singles to edge out the Redhawks and remain undefeated in conference play.
Behrend never trailed in the match, getting the first win at No. 3 doubles thanks to Kayla Canfield (Derby, NY/Lake Shore) and Montana Murphy (West Mifflin, PA/West Mifflin) with an 8-2 decision.
La Roche won 8-0 at No. 2 doubles, but Celeste Bentley (Harborcreek, PA/Harbor Creek) and Bowles combined for an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles for a 2-1 lead heading into the singles competition.
Vanessa Galatic (Pittsburgh, PA/Mt. Lebanon) posted a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles for a 3-1 Lions lead. The Redhawks knotted the match at 3-all with victories at No. 3 and 4, but Bentley gave Behrend the slight lead again with a 6-3, 6-0 score at the second spot.
Rebecca Franks tied the match once again for La Roche, recording a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles and leaving the match in the hands of the No. 1 singles players.
Bowles edged Kylie Banister in the first set 7-6 and then finished the second 6-4 to give the Lions the victory.
Behrend returns to action on Friday at Penn State Altoona. Match begins at 4 p.m.