Harrogate, TN - It was the home finale for Lincoln Memorial Women's tennis on Tuesday, as the Railsplitters welcomed conference foe Virginia-Wise in what would end up being a hard-fought battle on both sides. The Railsplitters would come away with their 10th win of the season, defeating the Cavaliers 4-2.

The win gives LMU a record of 10-10 and 5-4 in the South Atlantic Conference, while the Splitters end the season having gone 9-1 in games at home this season. 

LMU started their day perfect, sweeping the doubles bracket over Wise to enter singles competition with a 1-0 lead. In the first doubles draw, the Railsplitters duo of Adriana Pellizzari and Natalia Reimer battled back after finding themselves won 2-0 to Virginia-Wise. Pellizzari and Reimer would score the next six points straight to come home with a 6-2 victory. In the third doubles match, Lucie Palud and Rosalie Carrier-Dulac gave LMU a 1-0 lead on the Cavaliers. Palud and Carrier-Dulac took a 4-0 lead on UVA Wise before taking a 6-2 win, sending LMU into singles play with a 1-0 lead.  

The Splitters took their second point in the fourth singles draw, as Carrier-Dulac took home her sixth win of the season in two sets. The first set proved a fight for the senior, as Carrier-Dulac found herself behind 5-3 after the first eight points of the match. But Carrier-Dulac came back strong, scoring the next four unanswered to come away with a set one win 7-5. And after the second set started at 1-1, Carrier-Dulac ran away with the remainder of the match, taking the set 6-1 and the point in two clean sets.

Alexandra Ortiz secured the Railsplitters third point in a hard-fought fifth singles set, winning in two sets after a close first set. Ortiz and her opponent began by trading separate four-point runs, and after falling behind, Ortiz would come away with the tiebreaker point, as after working the match to six-all, Ortiz netted a 7-3 tie breaking win. The second set was easier for Ortiz, running out to a 4-0 lead before coming away with a 6-1 win to take home a 3-1 lead for LMU.

LMU secured the win thanks to Reimer in the second singles draw, as three sets were needed to decide a winner. Reimer took the first set with a 6-3 victory, but faced adversity in the second-set, falling 4-6. The third set became a back-and-forth affair, with the two trading point as soon as they could get them. The Splitters ended up getting the two final crucial points, taking the third set in tiebreakers and the match in three, giving LMU its fourth point of the day and another win on home turf.

LMU heads to Jefferson City on Thursday for a rivalry match, taking on Carson-Newman at 1:30 p.m. in conference play. 

RESULTS

Doubles:
#1: Adriana Pellizzari/Natalia Reimer vs Kenzy Abdelaal/Melissa Lino Airoldi: 6-2
#2: Mar Garcia Bucosa/Alexandra Ortiz vs Constanca Azinhaga/Andreea Onitoiu: 4-3 (UF)
#3: Lucie Palud/Rosalie Carrier-Dulac vs Juliana Bastidas Tamayo/Lucy Cunliffe: 6-2

Singles:
#1: Adriana Pellizzari vs Kenzy Abdelaal: 1-6, 2-6
#2: Natalia Reimer vs Andreea Onitoiu: 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5)
#3: Mia Rodriguez vs Constanca Azinhaga: 5-7, 6-3, 5-7
#4: Rosalie Carrier-Dulac vs Juliana Bastidas Tamayo: 7-5, 6-1
#5: Alexandra Ortiz vs Lucy Cunliffe: 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
#6: Laura Nastrini vs Melissa Lino Airoldi: 7-6 (7-4), 6-7