Northeast-10 Championship Central

RINDGE, N.H. (October 22, 2019) – For the first time in program history, the Franklin Pierce University women’s tennis team is postseason bound. The fifth-seeded Ravens will open play in the Northeast-10 Championship on Wednesday, Oct. 23, when they travel to fourth-seeded Le Moyne for a first round contest at 1 p.m. in Syracuse, N.Y. The match will be held at Skytop Tennis Courts on the campus of Syracuse University.

Franklin Pierce (9-5) makes its first-ever appearance in the NE10 Championship. Meanwhile, Le Moyne (11-3) heads to the NE10 Championship for the third season in a row and the 11^th time overall. The Dolphins have advanced to the semifinal round on two occasions and have a 4-10 record all-time in NE10 Championship play.

Northeast-10 Championship
(seeds in parentheses) 

Wednesday, Oct. 23
Match 1: (6) New Haven at (3) Stonehill – 1 p.m.*
Match 2: (5) Franklin Pierce at (4) Le Moyne -- 1 p.m.* 

Friday, Oct. 25
Match 3: Match 1 Winner at (2) Southern New Hampshire -- 1 p.m.*
Match 4: Match 2 Winner at (1) Adelphi -- 1 p.m.* 

Sunday, Oct. 27
Match 5: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner -- 1 p.m.
Championship match hosted by highest remaining seed.
* - All times subject to change based on weather.

Scouting the Ravens

Franklin Pierce put together a 6-4 record in NE10 play this spring, which is by far the best league record in the history of the program.

The Ravens are led by freshman Liria Loria (La Paz, Bolivia), who has chalked up the wins in both singles and doubles play this fall. Playing primarily at second singles, she has posted a 12-2 record in singles play, which includes a 9-1 mark in the 10 league matches. Meanwhile, in doubles, while teamed with graduate student Himani Mor (Sonipat, India), Loria has tallied an 11-2 record at first doubles. Fellow freshman Laura Alvarez Tello (Vigo, Spain) has chipped in a 12-1 singles record, including 9-1 in NE10 play, while playing primarily at third singles.

In all, Franklin Pierce went 36-24 (.600) in singles play against NE10 competition, to go with a 17-13 (.567) doubles mark.

Scouting the Dolphins

On the other side of the ledger, the Dolphins finished with a 7-3 mark in NE10 play to finish one spot in front of Franklin Pierce.

For Le Moyne, it’s sophomore Birdem Oz and freshman Francesca Lilliegren who lead the way. Oz has notched a 13-3 singles record, including 6-2 in the NE10, while playing primarily at first singles, while Lilliegren is also 13-3, and 7-2 in the NE10, while spending most of her time at third singles. The duo also played exclusively together on the doubles side of things, and posted a 10-6 record, though just 5-5 in the NE10, while playing at first doubles.

The Dolphins finished the NE10 season with an impressive, 42-16 (.724) mark in singles play. They were no slouches in doubles, either, with a 17-11 (.607) league mark.

Earlier this Season

The two teams met on Sept. 17 at Franklin Pierce, with the Dolphins posting a 6-1 victory.

Franklin Pierce found a 6-2 victory at first doubles, courtesy of Mor and Loria, and the Ravens picked up their only point at second singles, where Loria battled to a 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 victory. Franklin Pierce was also able to push first and third singles to a third set, but was swept outright at fourth and fifth singles, and dealt with handily at sixth singles as well.

Any path forward for the Ravens almost certainly includes flipping the doubles point in their favor. Claiming the doubles point, plus flipping the two close singles matches, while a tall order, would be enough to squeak out a 4-3 win, if all the other results held.

Headed to the Match?

If you plan on making the trip to Syracuse on Wednesday afternoon, directions to the Skytop Tennis Courts can be found here: https://cuse.com/sports/2004/8/25/tennisdirections.aspx

Up Next

The winner of Tuesday’s first round match will advance to take on top-seeded Adelphi on the road in the semifinal round on Friday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. The Panthers are three-time NE10 champions (2015, 2016, 2017).

Tuesday’s other first round contest features sixth-seeded New Haven traveling to meet third-seeded Stonehill. The winner of that match will advance to visit second-seeded Southern New Hampshire on Friday.

The winners of the two semifinal matches will meet on the campus of the highest remaining seed for the NE10 title match on Sunday, Oct. 27.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce tennis apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).