ResultsElizabethtown, PA - Messiah College lost a 5-3 contest against Elizabethtown College in the women's tennis semifinal of the 2014 Commonwealth Conference tournament. The Blue Jays came out of the doubles matches with a 2-1 lead and won three singles matches to clinch the victory.
Ashli Livermore and
Erin Ipsen won their doubles and singles matches for the Falcons' three points.
Elizabethtown advanced to their 10th-straight Commonwealth Conference final with the win, while Messiah missed the final for the second year in a row.
Livermore was switched in a the No. 1 spot for the first time this season and Ipsen was moved to No. 2, which proved to be the right move. Livermore defeated her opponent 6-0, 6-2, while Ipsen won 6-1, 6-2.
The duo also won their doubles match, albeit in a much more difficult way. Ipsen and Livermore took a 7-6 lead and needed just the final game to win, but Evangelista and Pellegrino got back the next two games to lead 8-7. The Falcons then tied the match at 8-8 and came out with the tiebreak win 9-7.
The other two doubles matches were played tightly but both the No. 2 and 3 matches were won by the Blue Jays, 8-6.
Eileen Barker kept a close first set at the No. 3 singles slot, forcing her opponent to win a seventh game. The second set was never finished though, because Elizabethtown had already won the required 5 points.
The Blue Jays showed their depth and ran through the No. 4-6 singles matches by winning all in straight sets.
Messiah finished their 2014 campaign with an overall record of 6-8, while Elizabethtown improved to 12-6 overall.
