GILFORD, N.H.—Plymouth State University earned an 8-6 win at second doubles to defeat UMass Boston women's tennis 5-4 in Little East Conference play on Saturday afternoon.  

THE BASICS 

Plymouth State University 5, UMass Boston 4 

(UMass Boston 1-1, Little East 1-1) 

(Plymouth State 3-1, Little East 2-0)  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Despite playing without two of the six players in their lineup, women's tennis went the distance with a veteran Plymouth State team.  

Sophomores Meagan Carney (Arlington, Mass.) and Lydia Chan (Quincy, Mass.) each went 2-0 to lead the Beacons. Senior captain Meaghan Moriarty (Norton, Mass.) picked up the final win for the Beacons on the afternoon. 

With rain in the forecast, the two teams moved the match indoors to the Gilford Hills Tennis Club and played singles first.  

Chan and Carney got the Beacons off to a fast start in the match. Chan dominated Megan Marshall 6-0, 6-1 at second singles, while Carney matched her with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at top-flight singles.  

The Panthers went on a run from there to grab a 3-2 lead.  

Tessa LaBarre defeated freshman Elena Albano (Haverhill, Mass.) 6-4, 6-2 at third singles.  

At number five singles, Tanya Kibiy (Rockville, Md.) was making her collegiate debut and fell 6-1, 6-0 to Elena Cardoso.  

The Panthers took the lead with a win at sixth singles, as Camilla Puzio defeated Syklar Robles, who was also making her collegiate debut. 

Moriarty evened the score at 3-3 with a tight victory at fourth singles. She knocked off Julie Miller 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.  

Plymouth State regained the lead when LaBarre and Cardoso defeated Kibiy and Robles 8-0 at third doubles.  

UMass Boston put the heat back on the hosts with a win at first doubles. Chan and Carney teamed up to knock off Wintr and Marshall 8-5.  

In the final match to finish, Albano and Moriarty fell behind early at number two doubles and couldn't overcome the deficit in an eventual 8-6 loss.  

BY THE NUMBERS 

• Saturday's match was a rematch of the 2019 Little East Conference Semifinals, in which the #2 Beacons defeated the #3 Panthers 5-4. Moriarty was the lone Beacon in today's match who played in the 2019 Semifinals, while Plymouth State brought back two players from their 2019 lineup.  
• The loss was the Beacons' first regular-season loss since their 2019 Little East Conference opener against Rhode Island College on September 7, 2019.  
• Carney and Chan are both 4-0 to begin their collegiate careers.  
• UMass Boston has used seven different players in their first two matches.  

WHO'S NEXT  

UMass Boston will open non-conference action this week, when they travel to take on Roger Williams University on Wednesday at 4 p.m.