Ruffin, MacLeod Flight Three Doubles Champions

The 2010 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's tennis tournament ended today after 27 flights from an individual flighted tournament hosted by Bay Path College in the two-day format. Four NECC school's competitors went home with awards and flight champions including Bay Path, Becker College, Lesley University and Newbury College.

As the #4 seed, sophomore Julie MacLeod (Buffalo, NY) and freshman Stephanie Ruffin (Waltham, Mass.) knocked off the higher seeds to claim the doubles Third Flight Championship. The Newbury tandem defeated #1 Bay Path junior Lianna Loveitt (Gorham, Maine) and sophomore Shaneela Shaheen (Wallingford, Conn.), 8-1 on Sunday. MacLeod and Ruffin advanced to the Flight Three finals after Lesley was forced to withdraw on Saturday.

In addition, Ruffin made it to the sixth flight finals in singles after upsetting the #2 seed, Becker College's Lianna Woodbury (South Dennis, Mass.) in two sets the first day, 7-5, 6-1. But she was defeated by #1 seed Bay Path freshman Ashley Sears (Turner Falls, Mass.) in the Flight Six Championship on Sunday, 7-5 and 6-3.

- To view final championship results: http://www.neccathletics.com/sports/wten/2010-11/releases/2010FinalWTNNISTOUR

 - Photos courtesy of Christa Parulis-Kaye, Assistant Commissioner of the New England Collegiate Conference