WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven women's tennis team (9-9) won its third of the last four matches on Saturday afternoon, capturing a 5-4 victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas at the New Haven Tennis Courts on a pleasantly warm day. The win came as the ninth victory of the school year for the Blue and Gold, which is the most wins since 1997 and also the most in recorded program history. 
 
The Chargers took two of three doubles matches from the Spartans, led by freshman Stephanie Gonzalez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) and classmate Lilia Rodriguez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista) who won their fifth-straight doubles match as a pair with an 8-4 victory over Nyenyeri Kanefu and Cassandra Rohr. Sophomores Shelby Clyne and Angela Mercurio earned a clutch victory at No. 3 doubles, battling back after the Spartans tied the match in the final game before the Charger duo dominated the tiebreak, 7-0, for a 9-8 victory.
 
The Chargers and Spartans finished with three wins apiece in singles matches, with New Haven seeing straight-set victories at the No. 1, 5 and 6 courts. Gonzalez took down Kanefu, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, junior Lauryn Burridge won at No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-2 over Kopf, and Clyne defeated Anna Ristora with 6-3 and 6-1 sets.
 
The match was presented by the New Haven Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and was co-sponsored by the University of New Haven Psychology Club in support of the Hope Happens Here organization which is a student-led movement dedicated to removing the stigma of mental health issues on college campuses.
 
The Chargers are scheduled to return to the courts on Saturday, April 21 for a non-conference match against Simmons. Match time at the Daly Courts in Boston, Mass. is slated for 12:00 pm.  
 
RESULTS

Doubles:
No. 1: S. Gonzalez/L. Rodriguez def. N. Kanefu/C. Rohr, 8-4
No. 2: S. O'Brien/L. Engstrand def. N. Calabrese/C. Burridge, 8-1
No. 3: S. Clyne/A. Mercurio def. C. Kopf/K. Lopez, 9-8 (7-0)

Singles:
No. 1: S. Gonzales def. N. Kanefe, 6-0, 6-2
No. 2: C. Rohr def. L. Rodriguez, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3: K. Lopez def. A. Mercurio, 6-1, 6-4
No. 4: S. O'Brien def. C. Burridge, 6-1, 5-7, 10-5
No. 5: L. Burridge def. C. Kopf, 6-3, 6-2
No. 6: S. Clyne def. A. Ristova, 6-3, 6-1