Women's Tennis Competes In First Day of PAC Championships

Oct. 23 - ERIE, Pa. - The Bethany College women's tennis team finished their 2015 season by competing in the first day of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships on Friday at the Pennbriar Athletic Club.

The Bison competed in a total of four flights in the opening round, including three singles flights, and one doubles flight. Freshman Pia Hager (Stuttgart Germany) competed as the third seed at No. 1 singles. Freshman Anna Heizler (Stegen, Germany) was the eighth seed at No. 3 singles, while sophomore Alyssa Smydo (Bentleyville, W. Va./Bentworth) entered as the eighth seed at No. 4. Smydo also paired with junior Sarah Thrall (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) as the eighth-seeded pairing at No. 2 doubles.

Hager was the highest-ranked Bison to enter the day's events, as she competed as the third seed the No. 1 singles flight. Hager, who entered the competition with an overall record of 10-3 found herself against sixth-seeded Courtney Brennan of Washington & Jefferson.

The pair needed to go to a tie-breaking third set in the match, as Brennan took set one, 6-0. Hager then forced a third set with a 7-6 victory in set number two. The match marked just the first time this season that Hager had gone to three sets with any opponent. Unfortunately, Hager could not overcome Brennan in the set, falling 10-7 in the final frame.

Heizler and Smydo each also competed as the eighth seed in their respective flights. Both Bison took on the top overall seed in their respective flights, each falling 6-0, 6-0. Heizler competed against Westminster's Christijana Vucenovic, while Smydo took on the Titans' Mariah Turiano.

Smydo was the lone Bison to appear twice in the opening rounds of the PAC Championship tournament as she paired with Thrall as the eight seed at No. 2 doubles. The duo competed hard, but dropped an 8-0 decision to Vucenovic and Turiano in the quarterfinal round.

With their appearance in four flights on the day, the Bison finish the PAC Tournament with four total points in the team scoring format. The PAC Championships will conclude on Saturday at the Pennbriar Athletic Club.