ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Union College women's tennis team improved to 5-2 in conference play and clinched a spot in the Liberty League Tournament for the second year in a row with a 7-2 win over Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon at the RIT Tennis Courts.
 
Union (8-5, 5-2 Liberty League) improves on the best conference record in program history with the win, while the team's eight victories are the most in a season since 2015-16 (9-7) and are one victory away from matching the program single-season standard of nine set on five different occasions. The victory also clinches a second straight postseason appearance for the team.
 
Sophomore Gabby Gatto and first-year Chara Meidani both earned a pair of victories on the day, as Union was forced to juggle its lineup but still found a way to come away with the victory.
 
Some new pairings did not give Union any problems in doubles play, with the visitors sweeping all three matches to take an early advantage. Gatto and first-year Skylar Semon played together for the first time all season and still cruised to an 8-1 win at the third flight over Anika Galkiewicz and Devon Mills, while the new pairing of junior Gracie Nicol and first-year Claire Langille also emerged with an 8-5 win at the second flight over Gabby Donahue and Abby Murray. Meidani and classmate Kennedy Alexis moved up to the first-doubles flight but still continued their winning ways, defeating Kirsten Auble and Jackie Drozd, 8-6, to complete the sweep.
 
Gatto completed her nearly perfect day on the court with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Donahue at third singles, while Meidani provided the fifth point with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Drozd at second singles. At fifth singles, first-year Sydney Alphabet knocked off Galkiewicz by a 6-3, 6-0 score, and sophomore Paige Tromblee also posted a win at sixth singles, coming back to defeat Mills in a supertiebreaker, 4-6, 6-3, (10-7).
 
Union will finish up non-conference play on Thursday at 4 p.m. at SUNY Oneonta before returning home for Senior Day next Saturday against Vassar College.