ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's tennis team did its part and got a little bit of help to remain in the Centennial Conference playoff race following an 8-1 victory at Muhlenberg.

The Bears (9-9, 3-5) now find themselves within striking distance of fifth-place Gettysburg (4-2 CC) and sixth-place Washington College (3-4). The Bullets and Shorewomen fell to Franklin & Marshall and Haverford, respectively, on Wednesday.

Ursinus handled its business with aplomb against a Muhlenberg squad that is still winless in conference play. The Bears allowed the Mules just five games in doubles, highlighted by an 8-0 sweep from junior Caitlyn Sorelle and freshman Brenna Trkula at No. 1.

First-years Maddie Russell and Cara Freedman rolled to an 8-1 victory at No. 2, and freshman Jessica Leach teamed with junior Summer Burkholder for an 8-4 result at No. 3.

Sorelle was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 1 singles, with Russell and Trkula landing double bagels at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Freedman notched a 6-0, 6-1 triumph at No. 5, and Burkholder topped her opponent at No. 6 singles by a 6-0, 6-3 score line.

Leach trailed 9-4 in a third-set super breaker at No. 4 singles but came all the way to save five match points before falling, 12-10.

The Bears have the weekend off before playing host to Bryn Mawr next Tuesday in their final home match of the season.

Coach's Corner

I am so proud of the way these girls are competing right now," head coach Pete Smith said. "We had to stare down the barrel of an unforgiving schedule to start the conference season. We have four freshmen in the lineup, and at times they struggled with the intensity of tennis in the CC. We were 0-4 and buried at the bottom of the standings … but nobody quit.

"We battled through those tough times and came out a stronger team. To have a path to the playoffs at this point is amazing. We will get back to work tomorrow, and I know this team is excited to see where this season takes us."