MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (April 9, 2013) – The Saint Francis U women's tennis team continued its recent hot streak against Northeast Conference opponents with a 6-1 win at Robert Morris on Tuesday afternoon.

Doubles action saw tight scores, which could have gone in either direction. The Red Flash (10-7) no. 1 team of Alex Sachs (Parkland, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) and Rafaela Panizza (Jundiai, Brazil/) were up 7-3 and one game from closing the set. The Colonials managed to hold and break, taking things to 7-5. SFU broke back to close at 8-5.

Danielle Gryckiewicz (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Academy) and Camila Diaz (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio La Piedad) had a similar scenario.  Up 6-3 and on serve, they allowed RMU to close the gap to 7-4, then 7-7. Going into the tiebreaker, Saint Francis got an early break at 3-1 and easily coasted to a 7-4 win.

“Not sure what to think,” said Flash coach Paul Tobin. “I am very happy we won, but concerned about the huge lead we had without being able to close out the matches sooner.”

In singles, the Red Flash coasted in all positions except at no. 6. The closest match was no. 1 when Rafaela Panizza (Jundiai, Brazil/), who was down 4-3 in the first set, managed to hold and break to gain the lead at 5-4. Down 40-15, Panizza hit two return winners bringing it to deuce. With both players unable to gain ground, Panizza at AD-out, hit a return winner to take the first set. RMU fought hard in the second set, holding serve and finding one break at 4-4. Panizza, unable to break, lost 6-4. The third set saw some excitement as, once again, both players held until a break came 5-5 for Panizza. Up 6-5, Panizza lost two match points and the game taking it to 6-6 and the tiebreaker. Down 3-1, Panizza took two breaks and held to 4-3. RMU managed only one more point before going down 7-5.

Alex Sachs (Parkland, Fla./Stoneman Douglas), no. 4 for the Red Flash, took home her 10th win in a row and 14 altogether. This brings her total to 26 wins in both singles and doubles, and a place in the record books.

“What a great day for the women,” said Tobin. “What a great year, too. We won the matches we needed to win and I am proud of them all.”