Franciscan 8, Westminster 1

Steubenville, Ohio - The Franciscan Women's Tennis finished their PAC conference play and regular season at home against Westminster. Franciscan came into the night having already clinched a minimum #2 seed for the PAC championship tournament. A win would guarantee the #1 seed and a 1st round bye. A loss would guarantee the #2 seed, and still get a 1st round bye.

Doubles
    Franciscan would complete doubles play with a sweep, and going up 3-0 on the team match. The first group to finished was the #1 pairing of Olivia Colby and Maria Herrera. Colby and Herrera were in full form, sending constant heaters down the sidelines. The #3 pairing of Caroline Picard and Laina Anderson finished next. Picard and Anderson became doubles partners halfway into the season. Their teamwork has aged well, and they continue to improve their play with each other. Anderson and Picard will be a very tough #3 pairing come tournament play next week. The last group to finish was the #2 pairing of Haley Davinsizer and Zoey Stapleton. This match was the closest of the three. Stapleton showed her experience staying calm and hitting excellent shots when the pair needed it the most. 
Singles
    First off the court was the #1 pairing. Maria Herrera faced Sukal, who she just finished playing in doubles. Herrera made quick work of her opponent switching from her power shot, and looking for her dangerous drop shot. Her opponent struggled to anticipate what was coming, which helped Herrera win in two sets. #6 hitter Laina Anderson finished her match next, only dropping a total of two points to her opponent. Zoey Stapleton had a very tough matchup as the #3 hitter. Her opponent was the anchor for the Westminster #1 doubles pairing. Stapleton brought some of the great shots she had in doubles, but they weren't enough today to get over her opponent. She would lose her match in two sets. Olivia Colby had another close match, pairing up as the #2 hitter. Her match went into a tiebreak, which Colby finished strong winning the tiebreak set 10-6. Haley Davinsizer was the #5 hitter, and she too had a close match that went to a tiebreak. Davinsizer got better as she got more tired. She focused in and hit the ball harder as the match drew longer. In the second set, she broke through her racket and had to go to her bag for the replacement. Davinsizer would eventually take the match by winning the tiebreak 10-6. The last Lady Baron to finish was #4 hitter Caroline Picard. By this time it was dark and the lights were on. All eyes were on Picard and her close match. Picard's style is to wear down her opponent and let them make the mistakes. Fitting to her strategy, she lost the first set, but clawed back in the second set and forced a tiebreak. Picard won the tiebreak 10-7, bringing in the 8th point for the Lady Barons on the night. Franciscan would win the match 8-1.

Who's Next? 
The Lady Barons will now prepare for the PAC Championships. They will have a bye into the semifinal, where they will await the winner of a quarterfinal matchup that will be played on October 19th. 

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow Franciscan University on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of FUS athletics.