PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Purchase College women's tennis team collected its first win of the 2022 season Thursday afternoon, topping Western Connecticut State University by the score of 5-4.

With the victory, the Panthers moved to 1-1, while the Wolves of WestConn dropped to 1-3 overall.

In what turned out to be a marathon matchup (over three hours long), the two sides began with some epic doubles action.

In all, Purchase won two of three contests, as the #3 pairing of Kali Secrest (JR/Hartsdale, NY) and Novalie Nguyen (FR/Rochester, NY) prevailed late, 8-7 (10-8), to earn the first win of the day.

The Panthers also got a win at the #1 slot, when Nikita Kordzielewska (SR/Stepnica, Poland) and Sophia Cenatiempo (SR/Woodbury, CT) outlasted their opposition by the score of 8-7 (7-2).

At the #2 spot, Olivia Menchell (SO/Los Angeles, CA) and Elaina Coppola (JR/White Plains, NY) fell in the final moments, 8-7 (9-6), as all three pairings played hard-fought tiebreakers on the day.

The action remained close as the teams transitioned to singles action, eventually ending with three wins apiece between the sides. 

For the Panthers, Cenatiempo, Coppola and Nguyen won at the #3, #5 and #6 spots, respectively, to secure the overall victory for the team. 

Coppola's win of 6-1, 6-1 was the most dominating performance of the afternoon.

Up next for women's tennis is a road contest at Brooklyn College on September 17th at 1 p.m.