WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Dueling back and forth for the duration of the MAAC Semifinals, Fairfield University women's tennis went up 3-0 as a team before fighting off a near-comeback effort by No. 3 seed Siena, taking the deciding singles bout in three sets to advance. The victory sends the Stags to the MAAC Championship game for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years as they seek the program's 12th title and first since 2019.
Opening the day with a pair of doubles victories, beginning at the No. 2 duel where Francesca Karman and Lize-Alet Morkel picked up a 6-2 win, followed by Laina Campos and Lucie Tuttle who won their match in the No. 3 slot, 6-3, to secure the doubles point for the Stags.
Katarina Plumtree would make it 2-0 in the No. 4 match, dropping just three games en route to a 6-2, 6-1 win, giving Fairfield the upper hand. At the six spot Karman would nab a second win for herself as she took a straight set 6-2, 6-2, putting the Stags on the brink of winning the match.
Siena would take three consecutive singles wins to level the score at three-all with Aina March the last up for the Stags at No. 5. She opened with a grueling 7-6 tiebreak to win the first set and in the third would close the door with a 5-3 victory in the frame to send her team back to the MAAC Championship game tomorrow afternoon.
Fairfield women's tennis returns to action from Mercer County Tennis Center tomorrow afternoon for a rematch of last seasons championship game when they take on Quinnipiac, with opening serve slated for 2:00 p.m.
