ORLANDO, Fla. --- Rallying from a late 3-2 deficit, the University of St. Francis women's tennis team claimed its first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory of the season with its 4-3 decision over Judson University on Monday afternoon. The match, which included a pair of tie breakers, lasted nearly four hours.

Like singles play, the doubles point came down to the last match. After Denisse Lizano and Kiana Sikich opened with a 6-1 victory at No.3, Judson bounced back to even the match at one-all with its 6-4 win in the No.1 slot. The Eagles then secured the point by outlasting USF's No.2 team of Yashleen Kheterpal and Maria Kuzminskaya 7-6 (7-4).

After Judson (4-3, 0-1 CCAC) opened singles play with a win at No.5, the Saints (4-5, 1-0) got back in the match with victories from Gabriella Noa (No.3), and Kuzminskaya (No. 4). 

The third tie of the match came when Lizano posted her second victory of the day, besting Sofia Corona Garza 7-5, 6-2 in the No.1 slot. That left it up to USF's Nikkie Christiansen and Judson's Samantha Brackenrig  in the No.2 match.

Brackenrig opened with a 6-4 first set win only to have Christiansen answer with a 7-5 victory in Set 2. The latter then seized the third set tie breaker 12-10 to push the Saints over the top.

Up Next
The Saints gain a much needed day off on Tuesday before facing Spring Arbor University (Mich.) on Wednesday.

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