Houghton, NY- The Utica College women's tennis team picked up a split on its first day of competition during the spring 2021 season.  The Pioneers fell to Nazareth College 3-6 before rebounding to knock off Houghton College 8-1. 
 
In the first match of the season, Utica picked up wins from freshman Ellen Collie (Harbor Springs, MI) (8-5) and sophomore Morgan Willis (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) (9-7) in second and third singles, respectively.  Utica also grabbed a doubles victory as Willis teamed up with Bianca Bockhaus (Shenorock, NY/Somers) to defeat Naz's Hannah Chesner and Caroline Keegan 9-7.
 
Houghton proved to be no match for the Pioneers as Utica cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Highlanders in the nightcap.  Ellen Collie (Harbor Springs, MI) had another strong showing in her first day of collegiate action, this time earned a huge win in No. 1 singles by knocking off Houghton's Elise Swanson 8-6.  Freshman Ellen Lyga (New Hartford, NY/Notre Dame) won her match up in second singles by the score of 8-1, while Morgan Willis (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) picked up her second straight singles victory as she came away with a lopsided 8-0 victory in third singles. 
 
Bianca Bockhaus (Shenorock, NY/Somers), Michela Marturano (Syracuse, NY), and Haley Dekin (Castorland, NY) also earned singles victories.  Collie and Lyga won their match in first doubles by the score of 8-0, while Willis and Bockhaus won 8-5, and Marturano and Dekin also won 8-0.  This marked Utica's first win over Houghton in program history. 
 
The day was highlighted by Utica's four freshmen Collie, Lyga, Marturano, and Dekin, who combined for six points for the Pioneers over the course of the two matches. 
 
The Pioneers (1-1) return to action on Saturday as they host a tri-match between St. John Fisher and Alfred University.  The first match of the day features Fisher and Utica at 10 a.m. in the Todd & Jen Hutton Sports & Recreation Center.