HARMARVILLE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's tennis team won five out of the nine games against No. 2 Franciscan to win their 12th Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championship with a 5-2 decision on Sunday afternoon at the Alpha Tennis and Fitness Center.
The Lions, who entered the tournament with an undefeated conference record, posted a 5-0 winner against No. 4 Penn State Altoona in the semifinals before retiring the championship match early with a 5-2 win over the Barons.
Behrend took a 2-1 lead after the doubles matches concluded. Alexandra Laffey (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) and Chelsea Czerwinski (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst) were 8-3 winners at No. 1 doubles over Caeles Crunkleton and Renata Crespo.
Malinda Miller (Champion, PA/Connellsville) and Morgan Kramer (Canonsburg, PA/Canon McMillan) earned their second win of the weekend at No. 3 doubles, recording an 8-3 victory over Lucia Neugebauer and Kelly Chambers.
Only four singles matches were completed out of the six, starting with Laffey at No. 1 singles. The freshman had no trouble with a 6-1, 6-0 win followed by Patra Sangpoompong (Bangkok, Thailand/Erie First Christian Academy) defeating Crespo at No. 3 singles (6-3, 6-1).
At No. 5 singles, Colleen Miller (Louisville, OH/Louisville) registered a 7-6, 6-2 win over Allison Jenson to secure the victory for the Lions, who have earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament in the spring.
Behrend completes the fall season with an 11-4 overall record and 8-0 mark in the AMCC.
