MANCHESTER, N.H. – Top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University moved closer to claiming its fourth straight Northeast-10 Conference women's tennis tournament title with a 5-2 win over No. 4 seed Adelphi University Thursday afternoon.  The Penmen improve to 16-7 and will meet second-seeded Stonehill College in Saturday's 1:00 pm final at SNHU.  Adelphi, which is ranked No. 9 in the East Region, likely sees its season come to a close at 13-7.

Southern New Hampshire jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles play.  Jamie Hann (Westhampton, N.Y.) and Kirsten Jean (Bedford, N.H.) quickly dispatched Taylor King and Gaby Adia at No. 3 doubles 8-0 to give the Penmen a 1-0 lead.  The Panthers tied it as Samra Redzematovic and Michelle Gurda downed Amanda Albuquerque (Weymouth, Mass.) and Yolanda Green (Springfield, Mass.) 8-3 at No. 2.  At No. 1 doubles, Northeast-10 Player of the Year Alena Mukdaprakorn (Hartford, Conn.) and Diana Vamvakitis (Wading River, N.Y.) pulled away for an 8-5 triumph over Maria Toft and Bianca Posa.

As singles play opened, Adelphi tied the match as Adia downed Jean at No. 4 6-4, 6-2.  The Penmen went on to claim the final three singles points to secure the victory.  After falling behind with a 6-4 loss in the first set, Vamvakitis stormed back to down Gurda at No. 2 with 6-1 and 6-0 wins.  Albuquerque downed Joanna Haich 7-5, 6-3 in a hard-fought battle at No. 3, while Mukdaprakorn clinched the match with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 win at No. 1 over Toft.

Southern New Hampshire and Stonehill will be meeting in the Northeast-10 championship match for the fourth straight season, with the Penmen prevailing in each of the first three meetings.  The Penmen won 5-2 in 2010, 5-2 in 2011 and 5-1 last season.  SNHU also took a 6-3 victory in Easton, Mass. on April 4.

Southern New Hampshire 5, Adelphi 2
4/18/2013 at Manchester, N.H.