FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield women's tennis was edged by Hofstra this afternoon by a score of 4-3 in an exciting match on the Walsh Athletic Center Tennis Courts.
 
The Stags started the match strong winning the Doubles point with a victory at #1 and #2 Doubles.  Aina March and Amanda Nowak took down Alejandra Ruffini and Katherine Kachkarov 6-4 at #1 Doubles.  Diana Prinos and Emily Lombardi clinched the Doubles point with a win over Ana Canahuate-Torres and Mandisa Walle 7-6 (7-5) at #2 Doubles. 
 
In Singles play, Fairfield dropped the first two matches doing down 2-1 but Amanda Nowak's win over Jasmine King at #2 Singles (7-5, 6-1) tied the match at 2.  The Stags fell at #1 Singles and then Aina March defeated Katherine Kachkarov at #3 Singles (6-4, 6-3).  With the score tied at 3, Emily Lombardi and Ronia Dolabany battled for the win at #6 Singles going three sets but Lombardi ultimately fell to Dolabany (7-6, 3-6, 6-7 (4-7)).
 
 "What a marathon match that lasted almost 5 hours" said Head Coach Jeff Bricker. "Hofstra is a very solid team and we almost had them. We finally put together a good Doubles point which was crucial to keeping us in the match. Amanda and Aina were able to put away straight set wins, but we couldn't quite get that fourth point."

"Emily made a valiant effort at 6, saving 2 match points in the third, but came up just short. Credit to her opponent, she went after the ball and won the match. Emily was great and this will help her and the team as we look forward to MAAC matches. I like the direction we are moving and I'm excited for Tuesday's match!"
 
Fairfield will return to action as they host MAAC opponent Monmouth on Tuesday, April 2 at 3 P.M.