ORLANDO, Fla. – The Saint Joseph's women's tennis team concluded its season on Wednesday morning as the 12th-seeded Hawks battled hard but ultimately fell to #5 Fordham, 4-1, in the First Round of the Atlantic 10 Championship at the USTA National Campus.

Fordham grabbed the early lead via the doubles point, but the Hawks drew level at the start of singles play via a walkover in the sixth flight.  The Rams were able to secure wins in each match that was completed, but Stow Weiss and Anna Kirk led their respective second- and fourth-flight matches in the third set when they were halted.  Weiss was one game away from securing a point, while Kirk led 3-0 in her third set.

"When the #5 seed plays the #12 seed, you pretty much expect an easy win, but such was not the case when SJU challenged favored Fordham," head coach Ian Crookenden said.  "After winning the doubles point with a close 7-5 set at #1 doubles, Fordham conceded the #6 singles and then won all the first sets in singles.  But then scrappy play by Stow Weiss and Anna Kirk brought two singles matches to a third set.  Amanda lost a close second set to give Fordham a 2-1 lead. Freshman Fabiana Tort-Umpierre never found her form and succumbed before Fordham finally closed the close to three-hour battle by winning a close #5 singles.

"I told the squad at our concluding team meeting that to think the gap has been closed to such a slim margin despite the large discrepancy in seeding slots is a credit to how far they have come. We will build on this year, since the squad consists of five young ladies who have just concluded their first A-10 Championship experience.  SJU women's tennis has a bright future ahead.  I am extremely proud of this year's squad and the competitive grit they displayed."

RESULTS

#5 Fordham 4, #12 Saint Joseph's 1

Doubles
1. Valeriya Deminova / Arina Taluyenko (FOR) def. Amanda Nava / Stow Weiss (SJU), 7-5
2. Eleni Fasoula / Nicole Li (FOR) def. Anna Kirk / Alex Kramer (SJU), 6-1
3. Paige Conrad / Madeline Hill (SJU) won via walkover
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles
1. Taluyenko (FOR) def. Nava (SJU), 6-3, 6-4
2. Weiss (SJU) led Genevieve Quenville (FOR), 1-6, 6-2, 5-4
3. Deminova (FOR) def. Fabiana Tort-Umpierre (SJU), 6-0, 6-4
4. Kirk (SJU) led Fasoula (FOR), 4-6, 6-3, 3-0
5. Li (FOR) def. Sophia Amato (SJU), 6-4, 6-4
6. Kramer (SJU) won via walkover
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 3, 5

Game Scores
Singles: Fordham 57, Saint Joseph's 44
Doubles: Fordham 13, Saint Joseph's 6
Total: Fordham 70, Saint Joseph's 50