HOUGHTON, NY –The Alfred University women's tennis team (7-5, Empire 8 5-2) clinched its first Empire 8 Conference Tournament berth since 2014 with a 7-2 victory over Houghton College on the road Tuesday evening.
 
The Saxons returned to the court with a vengeance on Tuesday following the 5-4 loss over Empire 8 opponent St. John Fisher on Saturday, jumping out a 3-0 lead during doubles play. Senior Nurila Kambar (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Republic Physics and Mathematics School) and sophomore Lauren Boshart (Oswego, NY/Oswego) teamed up to take the first win of the afternoon 8-3 at #2 doubles. Seniors Tori Pellegrino (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Inda Gillett (South Kortright, NY/Delaware Academy Central) followed suit, earning another 8-3 win at #1 doubles.
 
The #3 doubles match kept fans on edge, going down to the wire. However, senior Rachel Pera (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West) and junior Miranda Sakala (Olean, NY/Olean) scratched out the victory 8-7 (9-7) to give AU the lead, 3-0 heading into singles play.
 
Pellegrino maintained the hot hand in singles play, dominating at #1 singles 6-3, 6-3. However, the Highlanders bounced back at #2 singles, taking the match 6-2, 6-3 bringing the score to 4-1.
 
Senior Amber Smith (Prattsburgh, NY/Prattsburgh) sealed the match at #6 singles, controlling her opponent to a 6-2, 6-0 win, sending the Saxons to the Empire 8 Conference tournament.
 
Houghton continued to battle despite the defeat earning a win at #4 singles (by default), bringing the match to 5-2. Sakala gave the Saxons the 6-2 lead with a win at #5 singles 6-3, 6-1. Boshart closed out the match with another win 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8).
 
"I'm so proud of our team tonight," Head Coach Jordan Crouch said with a smile. "We showed resilience and bounced back from a tough loss to Fisher to come out and grab a huge win against Houghton. It was fun to watch the team compete and play great tennis tonight."
 
The Saxons will wrap up the regular season this Sunday when they host Empire 8 foe, Nazareth College at 12PM. The seeding for the Empire 8 Conference tournament has yet to be decided. As it stands Nazareth (7-0, Empire 6-0) will be the top seed and will host the four-team tournament. Stevens (5-1, Empire 5-1) and St. John Fisher (7-2, 5-2) round out the teams involved in the tournament.