STEUBENVILLE - In the last home match of the year, the Franciscan women's tennis team played strong in doubles on its way to a 7-2 win over Penn State Altoona on Senior Day.

"It was a good match for us to finish our home season," head coach Jeremy Ellis said. "We finally played good doubles. They were tight but we still pulled them out to start the match 3-0."

On Senior Day, the team's lone senior Renata Crespo took part in the closest match of the afternoon with freshman partner Julia Razook in no. 2 doubles. The pair were the last to walk off the court after doubles play, having to win the match with a 7-1 tiebreak and giving the Lady Barons a 3-0 lead going into singles.

"Renata and Julia really pulled that out, it was a tough match," Ellis said. "Winning doubles 3-0 is nice. It makes such a big difference. It gives the girls confidence and just makes them better for our conference tournament."

Razook struggled at the start of her no. 3 singles match as she was losing 5-1 and about to go down a set. The freshman stepped up her game and forced a first-set tiebreak which she won 7-3. Altoona had no chance in the second set as Razook won 6-1.

"Julia had the match of the day," Ellis said. "Just to be able to turn that around and play that consistent is awesome, and her opponent beat Penn State Behrend's no. 3. It gave her even more confidence to kind of gauge where she's at since her first match against Behrend."

Crespo also struggled in her singles match but was unable to win on her Senior Day. Ellis spoke high of his only senior, saying that she has been a great addition to the team and has been playing well.

"Her losing singles on Senior Day is tough but she got to play a player who spoke her language, which made it enjoyable," Ellis said. "I think she just enjoyed her last match. That's the way to go out."

The Lady Barons only have one more conference match remaining against La Roche which was postponed on October 3 due to rain. Currently, Franciscan sits in third place in the AMCC standings while the Lady Redhawks sit at no. 4.

However, the next match will be on the road against second-time opponent Bethany College (W.V.) on October 9 at 4 p.m. The Lady Barons beat the Bison 8-1 in the very first match of the year.