Saints Fall to Herons, 5-4, in Third Place Match
by:
Tara FreemanStephanie Finn '11 finished the 2011 conference tournament with a 6-0 record.
May 8: The St. Lawrence University women's tennis team fell to hosting William Smith College on Sunday in the 2011 Liberty League Tournament third place match by the score of 5-4. The Herons rallied with four wins in singles to knock off the Scarlet and Brown in Geneva, NY.
St. Lawrence, which finishes the 2011 season with a 10-4 record, was led throughout the tournament by senior Stephanie Finn. Finn was a double-winner again on Sunday, earning victories at both No. 1 singles and doubles, finishing the event with a perfect 6-0 record.
The Saints held a 2-1 advantage after the doubles portion of the match, as they looked to upset the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Finn and junior Hillary Drewry, one of the top duos in the Northeast, defeated Joanie Hilton and Kiara Ocasio 8-2 at the top spot. Elizabeth Geer and Shannon Murphy then teamed to pick up a victory at No. 2, 8-6.
William Smith would earn its first point of the match with a narrow 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles. Hallsey Leighton and Remy Raevsky defeated Sara Willett and Justine Rusk in what would prove to be a critical point.
Finn and Drewry would continue their hot play in singles, as they won their matches at No. 1 and 2 in straight sets. Finn handed Amanda Slack a 6-3, 6-3 loss at No. 1, while Drewry knocked off Casey Kennedy, 6-4, 6-0.
However, William Smith would rally by winning all four of the final matches to post the 5-4 victory. Ocasio beat Geer at No. 3, while Hilton topped Murphy at No. 4. Slack and Raevsky also won their matches at No. 5 and 6, respectively, over Willett and Rusk to cap the scoring.
Sunday's match was the last for Finn, who joins Paige Cohen and Victoria Ault as the graduating members of the women's tennis team's Class of 2011.