Oneonta, NY (Hartwick) – The Hartwick Hawks women's tennis team was enjoying an eight game winning streak when they welcomed SUNY Oneonta to the campus today to play for annual bragging rights in the city.  Today's match was one of the closest contests in recent memory between the two rivals with Oneonta coming out on top, 6-3, to snap the Hawks' winning streak.
 
The doubles portion of the dual match took almost 90 minutes to complete but the Red Dragons held a narrow 2-1 lead after the stanza.  The number one doubles team of junior Alana Green (Pittsford/Pittsford) and senior Michelle Spencer (Homer/Homer) went down 4-0 in their match but fought back to take a 5-4 lead. Unfortunatley, the momentum switched back in the Hawks favor with steady net play, and the Red Dragon duo fell 8-5.  However, senior Samantha Butcher (Sidney/Sidney Central) and junior Christine Santarsiero (Rye Brook/Blind Brook) completely dominated the net and their aggressive play proved too much for the Hawks number two doubles team and they succumbed 8-3.  The number three flight duo of freshman Faith Haedrich (Islip/Islip) and freshman Aubrey Hodnett won in a very tight match that went to a tiebreaker and the Red Dragon's way by a score of 9-8 (7-4).  That win makes it four in a row for the doubles tandem since they were teamed together one week ago. 
 
Singles play began with the Red Dragons up 2-1 and Green played her very reliable brand of consistent tennis and won at the number one flight 6-1, 6-3.  Green's match proved to be the clinching point for Oneonta.

Green's victory came after both Spencer and Butcher took home wins for Oneonta.  Spencer was involved in a wild match at the number two position, as she won the first set 6-0 and then lost the second set 1-6, which forced the 10 point super-tiebreaker that Spencer won 10-3.  Butcher, playing number four singles, took home an easy 6-1, 3-0 (retired) victory.

Santarsiero's win at number five singles was also a hard fought match but she came out with a 6-2, 1-6 (10-6) triumph, as her opponent could not contend in the tiebreaker with Santarsiero's powerful backhand winners.  That was the sixth win of the day for the Red Dragons and that brought the contest to its conclusion and the final dual match score ended at 6-3 right before darkness set.
 
The win today moves the Red Dragons to 5-6 and again within one game of .500.  They will try and get over that .500 mark when they play at the College of Staten Island on Friday, October 2^nd at 3:30.  They then go to the campus of Brooklyn College to play the Bulldogs on Saturday, October 3^rd beginning at 1 PM.

Doubles competition
1. Heidi Rice/Rose Natoli (HARTWICK) def. Michelle Spencer (Homer/Homer)/Alana Green (Pittsford/Pittsford) (ONEWT) 8-5
2. ChristineSantarsiero/Samantha Butcher (Sidney/Sidney Central) (ONEWT) def. Kelly Napolitano/Anna Van Allsburg (HARTWICK) 8-3
3. Faith Haedrich (Islip/Islip)/Aubrey Hodnett (ONEWT) def. Caitlin O'Brien/Kelli Ryan (HARTWICK) 9-8 (7-4)
 
Singles competition
1. Alana Green (Pittsford/Pittsford) (ONEWT) def. Heidi Rice (HARTWICK) 6-1, 6-3
2. Michelle Spencer (Homer/Homer) (ONEWT) def. Rose Natoli (HARTWICK) 6-0, 6-1, 10-3
3. Kelly Napolitano (HARTWICK) def. Michelle Halpern (Rye Brook/Blind Brook) (ONEWT) 6-2, 6-2
4. Samantha Butcher (Sidney/Sidney Central) (ONEWT) def. Anna Van Allsburg (HARTWICK) 6-1, 3-0, retired
5. ChristineSantarsiero (ONEWT) def. Caitlin O'Brien (HARTWICK) 6-2, 1-6, 10-6
6. Kelli Ryan (HARTWICK) def. Aubrey Hodnett (ONEWT) 6-4, 6-3