Elizabeth Erbafina '17 won at both first doubles and third singles for the Bobcats against Colby. (File photo by Polly Smith)

WATERVILLE, Maine -- The No. 29 nationally ranked Bates women's tennis team won its fifth straight match and improved to 6-1 overall in a 6-3 victory over Colby in NESCAC women's tennis Tuesday.

The Bobcats also moved to 2-0 in NESCAC play, while Colby fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in league action.

Junior Elena Mandzhukova (Lisbon, Portugal) and first-year Elizabeth Erbafina (Sudbury, Mass.) won at first doubles, while senior Lucy Brennan (Wellesley, Mass.) and first-year Emma Blakeley (Hope, Maine) and teamed for a tight 9-7 win at third doubles.

Brennan led off Bates' sweep of singles matches 2 through 5 with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Abel at second singles. Erbafina, senior Kristen Doerer (Madison, Conn.), and first-year Kate Rosenthal (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also had singles wins for Bates.

Tess Perese won a three-set match at first singles by scores of 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 over Mandzhukova. Danielle Levine had the other singles win for Colby, taking a 6-3, 2-6, (10-5 pro-set) victory.

Next on the schedule for the Bobcats is the three-day, three-match Wellesley Invitational April 4-6, with opponents yet to be determined.

Bates 6, Colby 3
March 18, 2014 at Colby

Doubles

1: Elena Mandzhukova/Elizabeth Erbafina, B, d. Tess Perese/Victoria Abel, 8-2

2: Holly Bogo/Erica Talamo, C, d. Alexandra Hakusui/Kristen Doerer, 8-6

3: Lucy Brennan/Emma Blakeley, B, d. Lucy O'Keeffe/Maggie Sutherland, 9-7

Singles

1: Perese, C, d. Mandzhukova, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4

2: Brennan, B, d. Abel, 7-6 (5), 6-3

3: Erbafina, B, d. Bogo, 6-3, 6-0

4: Doerer, B, d. Talamo, 6-2, 6-2

5: Kate Rosenthal, B, d. Sutherland, 6-2, 6-2

6: Danielle Levine, C, d. Olivia Voccola, 6-3, 2-6, (10-5)