WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's tennis team got back in the win column on Saturday, when the Lions picked up a 6-3 victory over non-conference opponent Penn College at the Central PA Tennis Center.

Penn State Altoona (6-4) won two out of three in doubles to start the match with a lead. In the No. 1 slot, the pair of Mikhaela Merca (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin)/Caitlin Blessel (Saint Marys, PA/Saint Marys) blanked their opponents by a score of 8-0 for their team-leading seventh doubles win together this season. The Lions also received a point via a forfeit in the No. 3 match.

In singles, the Lions earned four more wins to defeat Penn College (2-1) by three points in the overall match. Merca earned her team-high seventh singles win with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph in the No. 1 match, and Rachel Stricek (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) nabbed her sixth victory with a 6-1, 6-1 win in the No. 3 spot. Lauren Stich (Ellwood City, PA/Lincoln) won 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 5 spot for her sixth victory of the fall, and Penn State Altoona got its sixth point thanks to a Penn College forfeit in the No. 6 match.

Penn State Altoona women's tennis returns to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference action tomorrow, Sunday, October 8, when the Lions will host league opponent Pitt-Greensburg. The match, which is also Penn State Altoona's final home match of the fall, is slated to begin at 1 p.m.