BETHLEHEM, PA – Daniela Naves (Alvarado, Mexico/Club Med Academies) won at No. 3 singles, but the Rider University women's tennis team fell at Lehigh, 4-1, on Sunday. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 0-5, while the Mountain Hawks improve to 3-1.

"Lehigh is a solid team," said Rider Head Coach Tom Battaglia. "They don't make mistakes and they test your patience. Unfortunately for us, we didn't stay patient and needed to grind out some points. We pulled the trigger too early at times and needed to be in the rally longer."  

The Mountain Hawks won all three doubles flights to take the point. Elle Catanzarite (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) and Avery Oppenheim (Marietta, GA/Walton/Georgia Connections) played the tightest match, falling 6-4 to Audrey Harrington and Hamsa Javagal at No. 3.

In singles, Naves took a 6-3, 6-1, victory over Allyce Gaborik at No. 3. But the Mountain Hawks took straight-sets victories at Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to clinch the match. Sofia Gutierrez (Miami, FL/Palmetto Senior) led Hannah Letzer, 4-2, in the first set when her No. 6 singles match was halted.  

The Broncs return to action Sunday, Feb. 11, when they play host to Lafayette for a 5 p.m. first serve from Hopewell Valley Golf & Country Club.