LYNCHBURG Va. - Tied at 2-2 with Liberty in its final ASUN contest of the regular season on Saturday afternoon, the Stetson University women's tennis match with the Flames was coming down to a trio of singles outcomes that had stretched to third sets. The Hatters would win two and get the deciding point from Court 4, where Alanna DiFrancesco turned her opponent away 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 to give Stetson the victory and, with it, a share of the ASUN regular season title, the team's first since 2009.

Stetson (20-2, 8-1 ASUN), who had already set the school record for wins in a season with its 19th, now ties the school record for most wins in an ASUN season, which the Hatters had done three times prior, including that 2009 season when they tied as regular season co-champs with ETSU. Ironically, that season, ETSU was coached by current Stetson head women's tennis coach Travis Sandlant, who won three conference tournament and regular season titles there. The Hatters share this year's title with both North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast and will await their final seeding for the upcoming ASUN championship.

"What a battle today," Sandlant said. "That's what college tennis is all about. Unbelievable heart from this group. They have worked extremely hard over the last year and deserve this moment."

The Hatters easily won, what would be, a crucial doubles point to take a 1-0 lead, with Nadejda Maslova and Cheri Darley (flight 2) finishing off their opponents first, 6-1, for their fifth straight win and now own a 14-4 record. That was followed by DiFrancesco and Elodie Foster (flight 1) taking their match, 6-0, for their fourth straight win and improving to an 11-7 mark.

Liberty (17-7, 6-3 ASUN) would make the Hatters work for their title in singles, as the scoring went back-and-forth. Liberty's Tiffany Nguyen picked up her team's first point with a win on Court 6, but Anais Gabriel gave the Hatters a 2-1 lead with her 6-4, 6-3 win on Court 2 to pick up her 14th win of the year.

On Court 5, the Flames' Micaela Ode Mitre handed Noa Cohen her first loss of the season to tie the match at 2-2, but Darley came through in three sets on Court 3, winning her 16th straight match to reclaim the lead for Stetson at 3-2. Cohen and Darley are now both 19-1 this season.

Court 1 and Court 4 were all that was left, and each was a battle in the third set. DiFrancesco ended the suspense with her team-leading 20th win of the season.

"It felt amazing," DiFrancesco said about her win. "I knew I had to step up and do my part for this team. I'm so proud of being apart of this team. It's a great feeling."

The Hatters are next in action when they head to Fort Myers, Florida for the 2022 ASUN Women's Tennis Championship that starts on Friday, April 22.
 

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About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS (PDF).

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