Goucher Falls 5-4 to Moravian on Senior Day

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher's streak of Landmark matches ending in a 5-4 decision reached three this afternoon. Unfortunately, the Gophers came out on the losing side for a second-consecutive time, as Moravian spoiled Senior Day at the Goucher Tennis Courts.

The loss drops Goucher (5-5, 1-2 Landmark) back down to .500 for the season and into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with the Greyhounds (5-5, 1-2 Landmark).

Moravian began the contest by picking up points at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles by scores of 8-4 and 8-3, respectively. Emily Ruff (Easton, Md./Easton) and Kelsey Turner (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Friends), who along with fellow senior Alex Walsh (Greens Farm, Conn./Staples) were recognized prior to the start of the match, got the Gophers on the board at No. 2. Trailing 8-7, the duo won the next game to force a tiebreaker, and they topped Sophia Osbourne and Skylar Oliwa 7-4 in that tiebreaker for their first conference triumph this spring.

With that win, Goucher needed victories in four of six singles matches to come out on top. Ruff got things off to a good start with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 win over Oliwa at No. 3 singles.

The next three decisions, favored the Greyhounds. Osbourne and Brittany Eady won in straight sets at the top two positions, and Courtnie Lambert bested Kirsten Cianci (Bolton, Conn./Bolton) 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4 to wrap up the match.

The Gophers added victories from Alice Goldstein-Plesser (Durham, N.C./Durham School of the Arts) and Leigh Oehrig (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) at the bottom of the lineup. Goldstein-Plesser improved her singles record to a team-best 7-3 with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Caitlin Adams at No. 5, while Oehrig won her third straight match by a 7-6 (8), 6-2 final scoreline at No. 6.

Goucher looks to rebound this Wednesday, when Catholic comes to town for the Gophers' final home contest of the season. That match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.