The Bison women’s tennis team looked strong and confident during the St. Joseph’s University Invitational Sept. 23-25. Five teams competed in the tournament where players were arranged according to ability in two flights for doubles and four flights for singles. The Orange and Blue had four players reach the semifinals, and Jill Auteri ’20 secured the runner-up position in her flight.

The women’s tennis team started strong in their doubles play. Two doubles pairs advanced to the next round: Michele Urbinati ’17 and Lauren Fishbein ’19, and Emilie Bush ’18 and Paige Leavy ’20. While they were off to a strong start, the duos both fell short to strong Villanova opponents in the semifinal rounds.

On Sept. 24, the Bison looked to gain opportunity in their singles play. Four of the eight players advanced to the semifinal round. The two shining stars were first-year Bison athletes Leavy and Auteri, who already had single titles under their belts as well as undefeated records after Sept. 24’s competition.

Leavy stood her ground in Flight 3, defeating Loyola and St. Joseph’s. Mishi Papich ’19 won overall in Flight 3 after defeating both George Washington and Drexel.

On Sept. 25, the Bison athletes all had difficult losses in the final rounds of competitions. Both Leavy and Auteri ended their winning streaks in heartbreaking fashion. Auteri finished runner-up in Flight 4 after a tough two-set 6-2, 6-3 loss to her Drexel opponent. Leavy ended her streak in the semifinals against her George Washington opponent who eventually won Flight 3 singles. Papich and Danielle Gannon ’19 also fell short during the semifinal rounds.

The Bison will push forward in the season at the Lehigh Invitational from Sept. 30-Oct. 2.