FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart women's tennis team recovered from losing the doubles point to come back and defeat cross town rival Fairfield 4-3 on Monday afternoon. Playing in its final regular season match, SHU ends the year with a 7-9 record. Fairfield drops to 5-7.

It was Katie DeRienzo's first singles victory that clinched the match for the Pioneers. The reigning NEC Player of the Week battled through a tough first set tiebreaker before eventually sweeping her opponent in the second to end the season with an 11-2 dual play record. Sacred Heart's three other wins all came in straight sets as well, as Paige Olson, Lindsey Post, and Taylor Gurda did not lose more than three games in a set. The victory for Gurda clinched a winning record, as the sophomore ends the dual campaign at 8-7, while Post improved to an even .500 at 8-8.

Both of SHU's losses were tightly contested. Nicole Rydzewski fell in a first set tiebreak before eventually being edged 6-4 at fourth singles. Emma Pezzullo forced a third set after dropping the first, but was ultimately beaten 6-2 in the decisive third.

Paired together for the first time all year, DeReinzo and Gurda teamed for an 8-4 win at second doubles. For DeRienzo, it was her team high 14^th doubles victory of the year. The Pioneers then nearly earned the doubles point, but Olson and Post were edged 8-7 at first doubles.

Sacred Heart will now prepare for the upcoming Northeast Conference Championships that begin on Friday at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J. Earlier today, the Pioneers received the four seed, meaning they will face off with the five seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the quarterfinals at 9 am. Earlier in the season on March 21, FDU edged SHU 4-3.

Singles

Doubles