NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Senior Allison DeAngelis (Milford, Mass.) and sophomore Blair Dalrymple (North Attleboro, Mass.) came from behind to defeat junior Catalina Rosa (Fall River, Mass.) and senior Paula Araujo (Fall River, Mass.) at No. 3 doubles and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s women’s tennis team then won three of the first five singles matches completed to defeat visiting Bridgewater State, 5-3, in the championship match of the Little East Conference Tournament at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Sunday. The victory allowed the Corsairs to earn the LEC’s automatic qualifying berth into next spring’s NCAA Division III Championships. The match was terminated as soon as one team accumulated enough points to win.

The teams split the first two doubles matches, and DeAngelis and Dalrymple overcame a 5-4 deficit and won the last four games of the eight-game pro set. “Third doubles was a key factor, with Alison and Blair coming back to win,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Ralph Perry. “That set a good tone for us going into singles.”

Sophomore Amy Lopes (Dartmouth, Mass.) defeated sophomore Rachel Elman (Rehoboth, Mass.) at top-flight singles, 6-0, 6-0, to give the Corsairs a 3-1 lead, but the Bears promptly tied the match. Rosa defeated DeAngelis at fourth singles, 6-1, 6-2, and junior Paulina Ucher (Webster, Mass.) downed sophomore Alexa Fiorita (Reading, Mass.), 6-3, 6-1, to tie the score at 3-3.

Freshman Kelsey Grossmann (Holliston, Mass.) untied the score when she defeated sophomore Jessica Francis (West Barnstable, Mass.) at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-2, but the matches at No. 2 and No. 6 singles both went to a third set. Dalrymple defeated the Bears’ sophomore Danielle Linscott (Uxbridge, Mass.) at sixth singles, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 to clinch the verdict.

“(Head) Coach (Barry) Gorman and Bridgewater State certainly gave us all we could handle,” said Perry. “They were a solid team, and it took all we had to win. Blair gathered her thoughts after losing the second set and came out and played a good, tough third set. Her first serve wasn’t always working, but she started to get more consistent on her serves and had good placement, and that’s what carried her through.”

The Corsairs earned their first LEC championship since 1998, and their first under Perry. “We’ve been in uncharted waters for the last week, I’ve never been in this situation,” said Perry. “It’s definitely a reflection of our players, their attitude, and their skills. I have to give them all the credit, they were the ones on the other side of the fence, and they were doing all of the work. We also had great support, everyone was behind us all year long, and that was nice to see.”

UMass Dartmouth improved to 15-1 with the victory, while BSC dropped to 12-4 with the defeat. The Corsairs will learn their fate when the NCAA field is announced next May 4th, and they will begin play in a first round match in the NCAAs next May 8th.

UMass Dartmouth 5, Bridgewater State 3
Oct 19, 2008 at North Dartmouth, MA (UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex)

Singles competition
1. Amy Lopes (UMD) def. Rachel Elman (BSC) 6-0, 6-0
2. Becky Bullock (UMD) vs. Lauren Donnelly (BSC) unfinished
3. Kelsey Grossmann (UMD) def. Jessica Francis (BSC) 6-2, 6-2
4. Catarina Rosa (BSC) def. Allison DeAngelis (UMD) 6-1, 6-2
5. Paulina Ucher (BSC) def. Alexa Fiorita (UMD) 6-3, 6-1
6. Blair Dalrymple (UMD) def. Danielle Linscott (BSC) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Amy Lopes/Becky Bullock (UMD) def. Lauren Donnelly/Jessica Francis (BSC) 8-2
2. Rachel Elman/Paulina Ucher (BSC) def. Kelsey Grossmann/Alexa Fiorita (UMD) 8-4
3. Allison DeAngelis/Blair Dalrymple (UMD) def. Catarina Rosa/Paula Araujo (BSC) 8-5