La Roche Upsets Women's Tennis in AMCC Championship

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The fourth-ranked La Roche women's tennis team defeated No. 2 Penn State Behrend 5-4 to win their first-ever AMCC Championships on Sunday at the Oxford Athletic Club.

The Lions had their seven-year reign at the championships come to an end with the Redhawks pulling off their second upset in two days after handing unbeaten Franciscan a 5-4 loss in the AMCC Semifinals. La Roche trailed 4-1 championship match before putting together a furious rally to win, 5-4.

The championship match came down to No. 3 singles. La Roche's Alea Marks sealed the deal in a three-set battle against Colleen Miller (Louisville, OH/Louisville), 7-6, 4-6 and 6-3. Doria Shima and Melanie Ward led the Redhawks to the title with a win at No. 3 doubles and winning their respective singles matches.

During the regular season, La Roche earned its first-ever win against Behrend by a score of 5-4.

In the AMCC semifinals, the Lions swept Mt. Aloysius 5-0. Monica Gokhberg (Brooklyn, NY/Leon M. Goldstein) and C. Miller were 8-2 winners at No. 1 doubles. Patra Sangpoompong (Bangkok, Thailand/Erie First Christian Academy) and Malinda Miller (Champion, PA/Connellsville) put Behrend ahead 2-0 in the match with an 8-1 victory. Rachel Harris (Russell, PA/Eisenhower) and Catharine Haglund (Chevy Chase, MD/Academy of the Holy Cross) won 8-3 at the third doubles.

Gokhberg and Sangpoompong were successful in their singles matches to secure the shut-out victory and advance to the championship game.

Behrend will resume its season on February 15 against Grove City. Match time is 4 p.m.