NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. – The 2022 spring schedule kicked off with a closely contested match for Fairfield women's tennis Saturday night at Seton Hall. The Stags were able to capture the doubles point on the night but fell in heartbreaking fashion 4-3.

"That was a heartbreaker to lose. We fought hard but came up a little short," said Head Coach Jeff Bricker. "Credit to Scarlett Hutchinson for gutting out the third set and almost pulling it out after spraining her ankle. She was a warrior. Overall, for the first match of the spring season, I'm pleased with how we competed. The doubles looked good and we will learn from this as we move forward."

Fairfield opened the evening with a 6-3 victory at No. 2 doubles from Sandra Bozinovic and Katarina Plumtree, their team-leading fourth win as a partnership this season. Seton Hall would take the top flight before the Stags sealed the double point with a win in the No. 3 match from Laina Campos and Amanda Nowak, who move to 3-1 on the year.

Moving to singles play, Bozinovic earned a sweep on the night with a straight set 6-4, 6-0 win over the Pirates' Arina Gumerova at the top flight, her team-best eighth win of the year. Seton Hall would capture their first point of the match at No. 5 singles, before Francesca Karman came back from an opening set defeat to take the No. 6 bout in three sets 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Seton Hall would rally for wins at No. 2 and No. 3 matches leaving the match to the No. 4 dual between Scarlett Hutchinson and SHU's Hiba El Khalifi. The two would need a tiebreak to settle the opening set, with the Hutchinson taking it 7-5. El Khalifi would counter with a 6-3 win to force a decisive third set where she pulled away late to take the match for Seton Hall 4-3.

Fairfield women's tennis is back in action Wednesday when they travel to Manchester to take on in state foe UConn. First serve between the Stags and the Huskies is slated for 4:00 p.m.