Saint Leo, Fla. (April, 14, 2008) – The No. 29 Saint Leo women’s tennis team (12-8) snapped a two-match losing streak by defeating the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (10-11) Monday afternoon at the SLU Tennis Center by the score of 7-2.  The Lions finished the regular season 12-8 and will be seeded sixth in the SSC Tournament later this week.

The Lions gained momentum in doubles competition taking two of three matches from the Sailfish. The Lions No. 1 duo of Lina Benkirane (So., Casablanca, Morocco) and Asmaa Tazi (Jr., Casablanca, Morocco) rolled past Lina Rubiano and Natalie Aleman 8-1. The No. 3 pair of Veronica Queen (Fr., Valrico, Fla.) and Gina Schifano (So., Tampa, Fla.) wasted no time in defeating the Sailfish tandem OF Krishna Domenech and Rachel Renaud 8-1. The Lions only defeat came from the No. 2 duo of Shaena Keefe (So., Spring Hill, Fla.) and Taylor Cleaves (So., Norwell, Mass.), as they were narrowly defeated by Montsy Ripoll and Katie Livesay 9-7.

Saint Leo also dominated singles play. The Lions lone defeat came in the No.1 singles position, as Benkirane battled hard but dropped her match to Ripoll 6-3, 6-4. After dropping the second set, Tazi battled back to win a three-set thriller over Rubiano 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2). Keefe used the super tiebreaker to win her match over Aleman 6-1, 7-6 (10-8). Queen only surrendered one point to Domenech the entire match winning 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 4 position. In the No. 5 spot, Schifano put the Sailfish's Livesay in an early hole on her way to a 6-1, 7-5 victory. Cleaves finished out the contest overwhelming Renaud 6-1, 6-1 to close out the match. 
 
Saint Leo will continue its 2008 season in Lakeland, Fla. at the SSC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Lions will take on No. 3 seed Barry University on Thursday, April 17 at 9:00 a.m.