The Shippensburg University women's tennis team went toe-to-toe with regional rival Shepherd on Tuesday but came up just short against the Rams, dropping a 4-3 road decision in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at the Shepherd Tennis Complex.
 
Shippensburg (3-14, 1-3 PSAC East) won No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 singles, but the Rams claimed the Top 3 flights of singles and two of the three doubles flights to gain the edge in the match.
 
Freshman Rachel Gallagher rallied at No. 4 singles to win in three sets, claiming the tiebreaker 11-9 in a back-and-forth clash with Kayda Shives. Gallagher dropped the first set 6-2 before coming back and taking the second set, 6-2.
 
Freshman Brinley Orris won once again at No. 5 singles, dispatching Brianna Caceda by scores of 6-0, 6-2. Senior Brighid Cantwell won love-love at No. 6 singles over Alexus Vaughn, improving her season record to 6-5.
 
Cantwell and Gallagher are now 3-1 this season in PSAC Eastern Division singles matches. In doubles, Gallagher and Cantwell teamed up for a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles.
 
Shepherd (5-10, 2-4) got a No. 1 singles win from Marketa Beladova and a No. 2 singles win from Ximena Bolanos-Tellez, and the duo teamed up for the win at No. 1 doubles. Isabella Mascari won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles and teamed up with Shives for a 6-1 victory at No. 2 doubles which proved to be the difference in the match.
 
Shippensburg will fête Cantwell in a pre-match ceremony Saturday in advance of the team's Senior Day home contest against Lock Haven at 1 p.m.