DUDLEY, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Women's Tennis team advanced to the TCCC Semifinals with a 5-4 win over Nichols College Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the TCCC Tournament.

Single play was the strong suit of the Hawks on the day, as RWU took four of the six matches on the day. Caitlin Osepchuk (Ocean Gate, N.J.) had one of the wins for Roger Williams, defeating Maria Balabanova 6-3, 6-3 in #4 singles, while Amanda Wolfe (Mansfield, Mass.) won her #3 singles match 6-3, 6-4. The other two singles wins came via a 7-5, 6-3 victory by Katelin Richard (West Islip, N.Y.) over Kelsey Urbanetti in #5 singles and a 6-0, 6-2 win by Jill Mackey (Reading, Conn.) in the #6 flight.

Jessica Porter pulled out a hard-fought #1 singles match for Nichols against Leah Ribchinsky (Ivoryton, Conn.) that featured two tie-breakers. In the end, Porter came away with the win by a 6-0, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-7) score. Porter also had another win in doubles play, pairing up with Miller to beat Ribchinsky and Lily Osowski (Byfield, Mass.) 8-6 in the #1 flight.

Nichols' Molly McGuire also had a hand in two of the Bison wins, taking her #2 singles match against Osowski by a 7-5, 6-2 margin and her #2 doubles match 8-4.

The fifth win earned by the Hawks that advanced them to the next round came in #3 doubles. Wolfe and Kristin Dono (West Boylston, Mass.) teamed up to win 8-2 over Urbanetti and Deirdre Watkins.

With the win, Roger Williams (7-6) advances to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Colby-Sawyer College next Wednesday on the Charger campus. Before the next, the Hawks will take part in the New England Division III Championships beginning Thursday.