BOSTON – Suffolk women's tennis 2023 season debut was spoiled by Simmons as the Sharks took down the Rams, 6-3, Wednesday afternoon at Daly Courts. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Simmons 6
RECORDS: Suffolk (0-1) | Simmons (1-2)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Simmons swept doubles play to take a 3-0 lead into singles action.  

Emma Parsons defeated Alex Kickham in the singles sixth slot, 6-0, 6-1, to put the Sharks within one point of sealing up the match. 

Anastasiya Zakharava put the Rams on the board when she defeated Laura Lowe on court five, 6-0, 6-4.  

Caren Urbano followed suit with a singles win of her own to slice the deficit in half. The blue-and-gold's ace bested Emilie Lapointe, 6-4, 6-2. 

Nia Bebb pulled Suffolk within one when the freshman downed Emily Lopez in the third position, 6-4, 6-2, to make it a 4-3 outing.  

Megan Baadsgaard managed to lock up the win for Simmons when she defeated Rachel Hill, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 in the second spot.  

Angela Gross fell to Sara Fucillo, 6-4, 6-3, on court four for the 6-3 final.  

RESULTS

DOUBLES
1 – Emilie Lapointe/Julia Perconti (Simmons) defeated Caren Urbano/Rachel Hill (Suffolk), 8-4
2 – Megan Baadsgaard/Laura Lowe (Simmons) defeated Anastasiya Zakharava/Nia Bebb (Suffolk), 8-6
3 – Sara Fucillo/Emily Lopez (Simmons) defeated Angela Gross/Alex Kickham (Suffolk), 8-2
SINGLES
1 – Caren Urbano (Suffolk) defeated Emilie Lapointe (Simmons), 6-4, 6-2
2 – Megan Baadsgaard (Simmons) defeated Rachel Hill (Suffolk), 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
3 – Nia Bebb (Suffolk) defeated Emily Lopez (Simmons), 6-4, 6-2
4 – Sara Fucillo (Simmons) defeated Angela Gross (Suffolk), 6-4, 6-3
5 – Anastasiya Zakharava (Suffolk) defeated Laura Lowe (Simmons), 6-0, 6-4
6 – Emma Parsons (Simmons) defeated Alex Kickham (Suffolk), 6-0, 6-1

Order of Finish: Singles (6, 5, 1, 3, 2, 4) | Doubles (3, 1, 2) 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk moved to 5-11 on opening day since 2007. 
• The blue-and-gold began the year on the road for the third straight season. 
• Suffolk moved to 1-8 when pulling the curtain back on the season away from home since 2007. 
• The blue-and-gold battled Simmons in its first match of the year for the second consecutive campaign. 
• Zakharava put together her second collegiate golden set, first since doing so at No. 6 versus Lesley, April 15, 2023. 
• Bebb and Kickham made their collegiate debuts. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk takes the weekend off to prep for its Monday, Sept. 11 match at Saint Joseph (Conn.). Action between the Rams and Blue Jays is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.