MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's women's tennis team saw strong performances up and down the lineup on Tuesday but ultimately fell to Villanova, 4-3, at the SJU Tennis Complex.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Hawks went ahead early by virtue of claiming two of three doubles tilts.  Amanda Nava and Stow Weiss were winners in the top flight while Emily Elliott and Anna Kirk won their second-flight matchup.

• Elliott then staked the Hawks to a 2-0 lead with a third-flight singles win before Villanova earned wins in the first, fourth, and fifth flights to go ahead.

• Ireland Amato outlasted her sixth-flight opponent in three sets to level the match, but the Wildcats claimed a three-set tiebreak win in the second flight to clinch the overall victory.

HAWK TALK
"For the first time this season the Hawks played close to their potential," head coach Ian Crookenden said.  "We played good doubles and it was a terrific battle in the singles points.  My hat goes off to the effort of Stow Weiss in the second position, who saved a total of 16 match points and came back to force a third set tiebreak from down a set and 0-5 in the second, and then from down 1-6 in the third set breaker before falling.  It was an excellent performance from the whole squad."

UP NEXT
The Hawks will host Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne on Friday.

RESULTS

Villanova 4, Saint Joseph's 3

Doubles
1. Amanda Nava / Stow Weiss (SJU) def. Emma Brogan / Annalise Klopfer (VU), 7-6 (1)
2. Emily Elliott / Anna Kirk (SJU) def. Sabina Grigorian / Valieriia Kornieva (VU), 6-3
3. Caitlin Fisher / Olivia Kapp (VU) def. Paige Conrad / Alex Kramer (SJU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles
1. Klopfer (VU) def. Nava (SJU), 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-0
2. Brogan (VU) def. Weiss (SJU), 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6)
3. Elliott (SJU) def. Fisher (VU), 7-6 (1), 6-2
4. Kornieva (VU) def. Fabiana Tort-Umpierre (SJU), 7-5, 6-2
5. Bella Steffen (VU) def. Sophia Amato (SJU), 6-4, 6-1
6. Ireland Amato (SJU) def. Amanda Rivera-Gonzalez (VU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 4, 1, 6, 2

Game Scores
Singles: Villanova 83, Saint Joseph's 71
Doubles: Saint Joseph's 16, Villanova 15
Total: Villanova 98, Saint Joseph's 87