Patchogue, NY – The SUNY Oneonta Red Dragon women's tennis squad went down to Long Island and in front of many Oneonta supporters and alumni shutout the St. Joseph's Golden Eagles 9-0 at their campus.  The Golden Eagles were riding a three-game winning streak before the Red Dragons came to town and ended the roll in overwhelming fashion.

The Red Dragons were without their number one player in the lineup today but did not lose a beat.  Freshman Danielle Swierczyna (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) came off the bench and teamed with freshman Jacqueline Guidice and got their first win as a duo.  The pair dropped the opening two games and found themselves also down 6-5 and then won the next three games to secure the 8-6 victory as freshmen playing in the top flight.  Swierczyna shook off a few freshman nervous moments and settled down and was a factor with strong net play and consistent serves as Guidice was forceful with her penetrating groundstrokes.  The number two team of junior Kaitlin Ferrara and senior Kayla Houle (Apalachin/Owego Free Academy) secured their eighth win of the season against only four losses doubling up their opponents today 8-4.  At the third doubles position junior Samantha Felice (Seneca Falls/Mynderse Academy) and sophomore Faith Haedrich (Islip/Islip) also secured their eighth win as a pair for the season and defeated the Golden Eagles duo also doubling up their opponents 8-4.

The Red Dragons held a 3-0 leading going into singles play and built upon the shutout.  Guidice playing out of position today in the number one singles spot was dominant and flawless with a 6-0, 6-1 winning performance.  Sophomore Michelle Halpern (Rye Brook/Blind Brook) was equally impressive as she played in the number two spot and never faltered in her 6-1, 6-1 victory.  The match of the day perhaps was at the number three position as Haedrich moved up and won the first set with incredibly long rallies finally breaking her opponent at 5-5 and served out the set to take the opener 7-5.  The second set saw her opponent come storming back and took it 6-1 as Haedrich was fighting some back spasms.  However, in the super tiebreaker Haedrich showed her mental toughness fighting through some pain and was actually down 8-6 in the decider and then won the next four points and the match.  Haedrich was the last combatant on the court and her victory secured the shutout for the Red Dragons.  Houle and Felice had little pushback from their opponents in the fourth and fifth positions and won handily with the identical scores 6-1, 6-0 respectfully.  Swierczyna then filled in at the sixth flight after her memorable win at the first doubles position today and played her steady and enthusiastic brand of tennis securing the 6-2, 6-1 victory.

The Red Dragons are home on Tuesday afternoon, October 4th beginning at 3:30 PM at the Heissan Tennis against their city rivals the Hartwick Hawks and look to secure their tenth win of the season against only three-losses.