HILTON HEAD, SC- The Wheaton College women's tennis team swept doubles play and received the necessary two singles triumphs on Monday in nipping Ithaca College, 5-4 during day two of its four-match southern swing.

Wheaton, which entered the match ranked 11th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast poll, improved to 12-4, as the Blue and White's 12 victories are the most by a Lyon program in five years. Ranked 19th in the region, the Bombers, who started their fall at 11-0, dropped their third straight match.

Sophomores Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, CA/Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, NH/Central) set the doubles tone with an 8-3 triumph at number one, while seniors Oriana Federico (Andover, MA/Lawrence Academy) and Mallory Farmer (Washington, CT/The Gunnery) edged their third-slot opponents by an 8-6 count.

Sophomore Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) and freshman Rosalyn Chesky (South Hadley, MA/Wilbraham & Monson Academy) rounded out the doubles victories with a hard-fought 9-8 decision in the second position.

Despite Wheaton dropping four of six singles matches, Geocaris and Teague captured wins in the top two spots to clinch the team triumph. Teague won 6-2, 6-4 in the top spot, while Geocaris needed a third set to down her opponent at number two. Geocaris posted a 6-2 victory in the first set before securing the win with a 10-4 triumph in the third.

At fifth singles, Farmer took her counterpart to a third set before falling. The Lyons lost straight-set decisions in the third, fourth and sixth singles spots.

Wheaton seeks its 13th victory tomorrow against another New York-based school, as the Lyons take on Saint John Fisher College at noon.