STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Lady Barons tennis battled into the afternoon to beat defending conference champion, Penn St. - Behrend 5-4.

No.1 doubles pairing, Alanna Murray and Claire Haddad, came with powerful swings and aggressive play, winning 8-4. Allison Jensen and Erin Coyne also picked up a win for FUS in doubles, winning the no. 2 doubles match 8-2.

The two doubles wins gave the Lady Barons a 2-1 cushion as well as confidence heading into singles play The momentum was particularly important after freshman Anna O'Connor was injured during warm ups, resulting in a last-minute lineup change.

"I expected Anna's injury to shake us a little bit more mentally but it didn't. The team came in with a confidence I did not think they would have with this match," Head Coach Jenna Lynch said. "They are always our number one loss so the girls came out playing above and beyond."

Senior Alanna Murray continued to carry her energy and confidence from previous matches into no.1 singles. Murray emerged victorious in her no. 1 singles match winning 6-2, 6-2 and setting the tone by beating the Lions top player.

"Alanna really had the consistency to beat her opponent at number one by getting into her opponents head," Lynch said.

Murray's doubles partner Claire Haddad also played with poise and assertiveness beating her opponent 6-3, 6-2 in her no. 3 singles match.

"Clare played in spite of her injuries and some mental challenges." Lynch said. "She had a nice clean win."

The most confident win of the day, however, went to sophomore Erin Coyne who won her no. 5 singles match with a two 6-0 sets.

Lynch said she was proud of the girls for their confidence and mental strength particularly against an opponent her team hasn't had much success against. She added that she has been pleasantly surprised by just how steady their attitudes have been.

"They are confident in themselves as players, in their strokes, and in their ability to win and that is huge coming out to play a team you're not sure you can beat. That is the difference between a win and a loss," Lynch said. "We need to continue trusting the work we put into practice and that will come through in the match."

The Lady Barons tennis team will next play against the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford at 1pm on September 14 at their home court in Steubenville, Ohio.