WORCESTER, N.H. – The University of New Haven women's tennis team opened up its spring schedule on Saturday at The College of the Holy Cross, earning a 4-3 win over the Crusaders at the Sinnott Family Tennis Facility. The win came as the first victory over an NCAA Division I program in over two decades and also the seventh of the 2017-18 school year.
 
New Haven won two of its three doubles matches on the day, earning one point toward the total team score per Division I rules. Freshmen Stephanie Gonzalez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) and Lilia Rodriguez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista) posted a dominating 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles over Allie Reiling and Morgan McGuire, and junior Caitlyn Burridge (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) and sophomore Nicole Calabrese (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) defeated Katie Elia and Katya Martin by a score of 8-6.
 
The Blue and Gold added three points in singles action, as Gonzalez, Rodriguez, and Burridge all were victorious in their respective matches. Gonzalez posted an 8-6 win at No. 1 singles over Reiling, and Rodriguez took down Martin, 8-4 at the No. 2 position. Finally, Burridge earned an 8-5 win over Elia at No. 3 singles. Sophomore Angela Mercurio (Bay Shore, N.Y./Islip) and classmate Shelby Clyne (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip) played well and fought until the very end at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, respectively, each falling in a tiebreak, 9-8.
 
The Chargers will continue the spring schedule tomorrow, Sunday April 8, for a match against University of the Sciences that was originally scheduled for the fall season but was moved to the spring due to weather. The match will take place at the University of New Haven Tennis Courts and is slated to begin at 1:00 pm.
 
COMPLETE RESULTS:

Doubles:
No. 1: S. Gonzalez/L. Rodrigez def. A. Reiling/Morgan McGuire, 8-3
No. 2: C. Burridge/N. Calabrese def. K. Elia/K. Martin, 8-6
No 3: E. Fulghum/J. Kary def. S. Clyne/A. Mercurio, 8-6
 
Singles:
No. 1: S. Gonzalez def. A. Reiling, 8-6
No. 2: L. Rodriguez def. K. Martin, 8-4
No. 3: C. Burridge def. K. Elia, 8-5
No. 4: M. McGuire def. A. Mercurio, 9-8 (10-6)
No. 5: J. Kary def. L. Burridge, 8-3
No. 6: C. Kam def. S. Clyne, 9-8 (10-6)