ERIE, Pa. – Leading 2-1 after doubles, the Franciscan women's tennis team won three-straight singles matches to clinch the Lady Barons third-straight Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title and fourth in five years with a 5-1 win over Mt. Aloysius, Sunday afternoon.

Senior Maria Binette and junior Madelyn Conrad were the first two off of the courts at No. 1 doubles as the duo came back to take the lead 5-4 in the match and eventually won, 8-4. Seniors Julia Razook and Taranee Karimpour battled with their opponents at No. 3 doubles and the match went back and forth. The senior duo eventually won the final two games to give Franciscan a 2-0 lead in the match with an 8-6 win. Junior Grace Hammel and sophomore Ana Victoria Maria Haddad found themselves in unusual territory down 6-3 at No. 2 doubles. The pair remained composed and won three of the next four games to trail by only one game, 7-6. The Mt. Aloysius pair won the final game to give the Mounties their only point of the match and send the Lady Barons into singles play up 2-1.

Razook was the first one off of the court in singles as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles. Hammel won her first set 6-1 at No. 5 singles and Conrad slugged out a 6-4 win in her first at No. 1 singles. The championship match then came down to race to the fifth point between Hammel and Conrad. Hammel closed out her opponent at 6-1 in the second set moments before Conrad claimed a quick 6-1 win at No. 1 to clinch the fifth point and hand Franciscan the AMCC women's tennis title.

Following the match, Binette and Conrad were named to the inaugural AMCC All-Tournament team for the Lady Barons.  

With the win, Franciscan earned the AMCC automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in May.

Franciscan will take the rest of the fall semester off before resuming play in the spring in preparation for the national tournament.