Box Score DALLAS, Pa. - Eastern Women's Tennis lost to host Misericordia 5-4 in the MAC Freedom Semifinal on Tuesday night. The Eagles battled back to tie the match before the Cougars won a decisive third set in the second singles match to claim the victory. 

"This is definitely a tough loss," said Head Coach Mark Spangler. "The girls played well throughout the entire match today and should be proud. It was a fun year."  

Emma Paugh and Amanda Riiff earned the only point for Eastern in the doubles matches. Paugh and Riiff cruised to an 8-2 victory in the second doubles match moving their record to 11-0 on the season together as a doubles pair. 

Trailing 2-1 entering the singles matches the Eagles needed four wins to secure the victory. A loss in the early stages of the singles matches stretched the Misericordia lead to 3-1. Wins by Leslie Henry and Riiff tied the match at 3-3 with three matches left to play. 

Riiff posted her second victory of the day winning in straight sets by scores of 7-5, 6-3. For Riiff, it is her tenth singles win of the season and fourth in a row. 

With Eastern trailing again, 4-3, Paugh pulled the Eagles even claiming the first singles match in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. With the win, Paugh notched her fourth consecutive victory and eleventh of the season in singles. 

The match would come down to second singles and Kelly Archibald. Archibald claimed the opening set 7-6 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. However, Misericordia battled back to take the final two sets 6-4, 6-1 to claim the match and advance to the finals. 

"Kelly played a great match in second singles," concluded Spangler. "She had some great shots throughout the match, the other girl just kept the ball in play and battled to come back and earn the win."    

Eastern will now turn its attention to the offseason and preparations for the 2016-17 season.  

Match Results