NORTON, MA- Three strong doubles showings and five straight-set singles wins propelled the regionally-ranked Wheaton College women's tennis team past Springfield College, 8-1 during New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday at the Clark Tennis Courts.

The Lyons, who are ranked 12th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Northeast poll, improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in league action, while the Pride is 0-3 and 0-2.

Wheaton yielded a total of four games during doubles, as juniors Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, CA/Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, NH/Central) notched an 8-1 win in the first spot, while classmate Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) and sophomore Rosalyn Chesky (South Hadley, MA/Wilbraham & Monson School) followed suit with an 8-1 victory in the third position.

At number two, senior captain Katherine Knies (Purdys, NY/North Salem) and sophomore Allesandra DiOrio (Cumberland, RI/Lincoln School) tallied an 8-2 triumph.

During singles play, Geocaris, Teague and Chesky each allowed just three games in the first, second and sixth spots, respectively. DiOrio picked up a 6-1, 6-4 win at four, and Knies downed her fifth-position counterpart, 6-3, 6-2. For Springfield, freshman Sam Carney (Franklin, MA/Franklin) earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory at number three.

Wheaton turns around and hosts Union College of New York tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.