Women's tennis fall in thriller to Alvernia

Box Score READING, PA (March 28, 2012) - After being swept in doubles play, the Penn State Berks women's tennis team battled back strong only to fall, 6-3, to crosstown rival Alvernia University on Wednesday afternoon at Gring's Mill. (Boxscore)

The contest featured three matches that went the distance to three sets and included multiple tiebreakers to clinch the wins.

Crystal Hitz made quick work at the first singles flight, downing Jennifer Petrilla in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-1. Aimee Hoffman (No. 2 singles) dropped the first set by a 6-4, but bounced back with a tight 7-5 win to force a decisive third set with Kayla Morgan. The two were neck and neck throughout and Hoffman emerged victorious, 7-6, after winning 7-5 in the tiebreaker.

In No. 3 singles, Arion Harris also pulled out an impressive comeback win. She lost 7-6 (7-4 in tiebreaker) before evening things up with a 7-6 win in the second set. Harris then clinched the 7-6 third set win by taking the tiebreaker by a score of 7-4.

Elizabeth Kehm dropped a heartbreaker at fifth singles in a match that included roughly 30 deuces in the final game. She fell 6-4 in the first set and then won 6-3 to force the marathon play in the third set. Down to 5-1, Kehm and Laura Ehnes battled through the plethora of deuces before Ehnes took the match.

The Nittany Lions will host the College of St. Elizabeth in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) opener on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Arion Harris: 5' 2"; Sophomore

Crystal Hitz: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Aimee Hoffman: 5' 5"; Senior

Elizabeth Kehm: 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Arion Harris
: 5' 2"; Sophomore

Crystal Hitz
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Aimee Hoffman
: 5' 5"; Senior

Elizabeth Kehm
: 5' 4"; Freshman