St. Mary's City, Md. – Senior captain Lauren Rost (Gaithersburg, Md./Poolesville) claimed the fifth and decisive win at No. 4 singles to propel the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's tennis team to a 5-4 non-conference win over Goucher College Sunday afternoon in the Seahawks' home-opener.

St. Mary's (3-1) owned a 4-3 advantage when Rost began her match against junior Kirsten Cianci (Bolton, Conn./Bolton) at the fourth flight. Rost posted a straight-set victory over Cianci, dropping just two games in improving to 3-1 on the season.

The next time the Seahawks get back on the court they will be in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina for the PTR Spring TennisFest. St. Mary's will face St. Norbert College on March 15th at 3:30 p.m., Frostburg State University on March 16th at 12:30 p.m., and Albright College on March 17th at 8:00 a.m.

Goucher (3-1) staked a 2-1 lead after doubles action as seniors Shannon Ramsey (Dunkirk, Md./Northern) and Emily Stumpfig (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) picked up an 8-3 victory at No. 1 doubles to prevent a Gopher sweep in doubles play.

Stumpfig then tallied a 6-0, 6-0 victory over senior captain Emily Ruff (Easton, Md./Easton) at No. 3 singles to even up the score. The Gophers struck back with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles to maintain a one-point advantage.

The Seahawks captured the next three singles flights – No. 2, No. 1, and No. 4 singles – to boast a 5-3 lead with one flight left to play. Goucher's sophomore Leigh Oehrig (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) registered a 6-4, 4-6, 10-4 for the Gophers' final point of the match.

Facebook: StMarysAthletics

Twitter: @smcseahawks, @SMCMtennis, #SeahawkAthletics, #GoHawks

Instagram: @smcseahawks, @smcmtennis