DUDLEY, Mass. – Nichols College remained undefeated in the Commonwealth Coast Conference as the Bison defeated the visiting Roger Williams University Women's Tennis team 6-3 on Friday evening in a CCC match at Francis W. Robinson Courts.

With one regular season match to go, the Bison (10-4, 7-0 CCC) have locked up the top seed in the upcoming conference championship tournament. Roger Williams (7-3, 5-2 CCC) completes the day third in the standings.

Senior co-captain Alex Cifone (Bristol, Conn.) shined in her 45th career singles victory. Cifone and freshman Lauren Schmidt (South Windsor, Conn.) had a lengthy match that finished long after the other courts had emptied as he Nichols senior emerged with a 7-5, 7-5 victory in a hard fought contest.

Roger Williams jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Schmidt and sophomore Alexandra Brown (Kennett, Mo.) blanked their opponents at the third doubles flight. Bison Junior Anna Dyakiv (Amsterdam, N.Y.) and senior Jillian McQuiggan (Weymouth, Mass.) took the second flight 8-4 over the duo of senior Tracy Klein (New City, N.Y) and junior Hillary Dutton (Cheshire, Conn.) as Dyakiv picked up her 40th career doubles victory. The first flight went to Cifone and sophomore Lindsay Benoit (Holden, Mass.) as they bested junior Samantha Curran (Cumberland, R.I.) and Adriana Maconochie (Easton, Conn.).

Nichols Senior Megan Woodruff (Morris, Conn.) quickly handled Maconochie with a 6-1, 6-1 win to give the Bison a 4-1 advantage. Dyakiv followed with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph at the first flight as she registered her 20th career CCC regular season victory without a defeat. Roger Williams then took the fourth and sixth flights to climb back into the match. Dutton downed McQuiggan 7-5, 7-5 while Brown topped sophomore Katie Malloy (Norwell, Mass.) 6-1, 6-1. Benoit claimed the second flight for Nichols as she blanked Curran 6-0 in the third set after the pair split the first two sets 6-1, 4-6, respectively. Cifone then sent everyone home following her milestone victory.

The Bison host Eastern Nazarene tomorrow morning in the regular season finale. Due to the anticipated weather the match may start earlier than the advertised 11:00 a.m. start time. Roger Williams entertains Salve Regina tomorrow at Noon.

Tennis Match Results

Nichols 6, Roger Williams 3

10/05/12 at Dudley, Mass. (Francis W. Robinson Courts)

Singles competition

1. Anna Dyakiv (NC) def. Tracy Klein (RWU) 6-2, 6-0

2. Lindsay Benoit (NC) def. Samantha Curran (RWU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-0

3. Alex Cifone (NC) def. Lauren Schmidt (RWU) 7-5, 7-5

4. Hillary Dutton (RWU) def. Jillian McQuiggan (NC) 7-5, 7-5

5. Megan Woodruff (NC) def. Adriana Maconochie (RWU) 6-1, 6-1

6. Alexandra Brown (RWU) def. Katie Malloy (NC) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Alex Cifone/Lindsay Benoit (NC) def. Samantha Curran/Adriana Maconochie (RWU) 8-5

2. Anna Dyakiv/Jillian McQuiggan (NC) def. Tracy Klein/Hillary Dutton (RWU) 8-4

3. Lauren Schmidt/Alexandra Brown (RWU) def. Megan Woodruff/Erin Rivers (NC) 8-0

Match Notes

Roger Williams 7-3, 5-2 CCC

Nichols 10-4, 7-0 CCC

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,1,4,6,2,3)

Official: William Wilson T-3:50 A-100

- Release courtesy of the Nichols College Sports Information Department