Hannah Sweeney won at No. 2 singles against No. 8 nationally ranked Amherst on Saturday, April 7, 2018. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year Hannah Sweeney continued her outstanding debut season, winning at No. 2 singles but the No. 28 nationally ranked Bates women's tennis team fell 8-1 to No. 8 Amherst Saturday morning at Merrill Gymnasium. 

Bates (7-5, 1-2 NESCAC) fell behind 3-0 as the Mammoths (5-4, 1-0 NESCAC) took command during doubles play. Sweeney (Franklin, Mass.) and sophomore Lauren Hernandez (Chester, N.J.) turned in the Bobcats' best performance in doubles, falling 8-3 at the No. 2 position to Vickie Ip and Jane Fraley.

Sweeney got Ip back at No. 2 singles, winning the first set 6-0. Ip bounced back to take the second set 6-4 before Sweeney prevailed 10-3 in the third set tiebreaker. 

Although Bates didn't win any other singles matches, senior captain Maisie Silverman (Brunswick, Maine) and sophomore Suzanne Elfman (Longmeadow, Mass.) acquitted themselves well at No. 1 and 3 singles respectively, with Silverman falling 6-3, 6-3 to Camille Smuckler and Elfman coming up just short in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Maddie Dewire. 

The Bobcats host No. 29 Trinity in a key NESCAC match Sunday at 10:00 a.m.