Cortland, NY – The battle of the Red Dragons in women's tennis was a marathon affair held at the SUNY Cortland tennis complex.  The match ultimately had to be called because of darkness with Oneonta holding a commanding 4-2 lead when play was halted.  The SUNY Athletic conference ruled a win for Oneonta and thereby they clinched the number two seed for the upcoming conference tournament.  Cortland's setback combined with losses to Oneonta, Plattsburgh and New Paltz left them with an 0-3 mark in the East division and put them at the number four seed while the Oneonta was 2-1 in the East.  The Oneonta Red Dragons are now 7-2 overall on the season.

The doubles competition today saw senior Alana Green (Pittsford/Pittsford) and freshman Jacqueline Guidice close out their opponents doubling them up 8-4 with superior net play and teamwork.  The number two flighted doubles pair of junior Kaitlin Ferrara and senior Kayla Houle (Apalachin/Owego Free Academy) also doubled up their opponents with the duplicate
score of 8-4.

With the Oneonta squad holding a 2-1 advantage after doubles play the singles competition proved to be a grueling event.  Green in the number one position held a one set lead but were in a second set tiebreaker when the match was halted.  Number three sophomore Michelle Halpern (Rye Brook/Blind Brook) was up one set and serving to go up 5-2 in the second set when darkness halted the action.  The number six player junior Samantha Felice (Seneca Falls/Mynderse Academy) split sets with her Cortland foe and was on serve with Felice down 2-3 in the third set and again play had to be halted.  However, Oneonta saw impressive wins at number four singles as sophomore Faith Haedrich (Islip/Islip) took down her Cortland opponent in dominant fashion 6-1, 6-1.  Houle also secured a singles win and the fourth victory on the day for Oneonta as she also took her opponent down with the identical 6-1, 6-1 score. 

The SUNY Oneonta Red Dragon women's tennis will return home and play a very strong Hamilton College Squad on Wednesday, September 28^th at 3:30 pm held at the Heissan Tennis Courts.

Doubles competition
1. Alana Green (Pittsford/Pittsford)/Jacqueline Guidice (ONEWT) def. Nikaylah Williams/Mia Hayes (CORTLAND) 8-4
2. Kayla Houle (Apalachin/Owego Free Academy)/Kaitlin Ferrara (ONEWT) def. Katie Fineman/Kim Givelechian (CORTLAND) 8-4
3. Kristen Parker/Kelli Camp (CORTLAND) def. Samantha Felice (Seneca Falls/Mynderse Academy)/Faith Haedrich (Islip/Islip) (ONEWT) 8-6
 
Singles competition
1. Nikaylah Williams (CORTLAND) vs. Alana Green (Pittsford/Pittsford) (ONEWT) 1-6, 6-6, unfinished
2. Mia Hayes (CORTLAND) def. Jacqueline Guidice (ONEWT) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
3. Katie Fineman (CORTLAND) vs. Michelle Halpern (Rye Brook/Blind Brook) (ONEWT) 5-7, 2-4, unfinished
4. Faith Haedrich (Islip/Islip) (ONEWT) def. Kim Givelechian (CORTLAND) 6-1, 6-1
5. Kayla Houle (Apalachin/Owego Free Academy) (ONEWT) def. Cassie Special (CORTLAND) 6-1, 6-1
6. Michelle Coffey (CORTLAND) vs. Samantha Felice (Seneca Falls/Mynderse Academy) (ONEWT) 6-2, 6-8, 3-2, unfinished