Panther women on a roll, win third straight

ORANGE, Calif. -  It has been a good week for the Chapman University women's tennis team. After dropping three consecutive matches to ranked opponents, the Panthers have bounced back to win three in a row, including victories over No. 25 Skidmore (Pa.) on Wednesday and Texas-Tyler on Thursday.

Wednesday: Chapman 5, Skidmore 4
The Panthers received a huge boost from junior Manon Pochet and freshman Cassady Sirois in this narrow Chapman win. First the duo gave Chapman a 2-1 edge in doubles play, winning the No. 2 match by outlasting Skidmore's Danielle Fancher and Rachel Loeb 9-8. Sophomore Liz Lewis and Kelley Fox - ranked No. 23 in the nation - won their match as well, 8-2.

But it was their singles matches - Sirois, in particular from the No. 6 position - that provided the difference in the Panthers 5-4 win. Both Pochet and Sirois were forced to go to a third game, and won. Sirois rallied from a one-set deficit to win her match 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 and clinch the win for Chapman. Lewis also extended her singles winning streak to eight straight, defeating Danika Robison in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

Thursday: Chapman 8, UT-Tyler 1
Chapman (5-4) swept through doubles play and took five of the six singles matches to win this all-important regional matchup against Tyler. Lewis and Fox won their fourth consecutive match in doubles action, improving to 6-3 overall. Meanwhile, in singles play, Lewis won for the ninth straight time 6-1, 6-2 and Sirois won her third match in a row 6-4, 6-2 to improve to 6-3 overall. Fox won from the No. 2 position with a 6-2, 7-6 win over Tyler's Sydni Hermsdorf.