HAMDEN, Conn. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson stayed undefeated in Northeast Conference play with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Quinnipiac on Saturday in a rematch of the championship match of the 2012 NEC Tournament. With the victory, the Knights move to .500 on the season with a record of 5-5 (4-0 NEC), while the Bobcats fall to 7-6 (2-1 NEC) overall.

The home team jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after taking the doubles' point by winning matches at No. 1 and No. 2. FDU's lone victory came at No. 3 as sophomore Dina Guzairova (Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8 ) and junior Manuela Leme (Varginha, Brazil/E.E. Antania Alves Cruz) defeated Mary Chupa and Ariana Launie, 8-4.

In singles, the Knights won four of the six matches to claim the match. With the overall score tied at three, Guzairova prevailed in a three-set match over Chupa at No. 5, winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.

Senior Anna Rapoport (Moscow, Russia/#1239 ) needed three sets at No. 1 to defeat Rachel Cantor, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Freshman Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg) cruised at No. 4, 6-3, 6-1 over Michelle Dassa, and Leme was victorious in straight sets over Launie, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6.

“This was a great conference win, particularly after the disappointment of failing to capture the doubles' point,” Head Coach Jonathan Buchman said. “But our team dug in and fought hard for this victory. We still have work to do in order to reach our potential and play our best tennis, but we are in a good position now to make that happen.”

FDU will return to action on Wednesday, April 3 when it travels to Binghamton, N.Y. to take on Binghamton at 2 p.m.

Doubles
#1 – Cantor/Viebrock (QU) def. Rapoport/Chis (FDU): 8-5
#2 – Dassa/Raynor (QU) def. Morina/Maier (FDU): 8-6
#3 – Guzairova/Leme (FDU) def. Chupa/Launie (QU): 8-4
Singles
#1 – Rapoport (FDU) def. Cantor (QU): 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
#2 – Raynor (QU) def. Morina (FDU): 6-0, 6-3
#3 – Viebrock (QU) def. Chis (FDU): 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
#4 – Maier (FDU) def. Dassa (QU): 6-3, 6-1
#5 – Guzairova (FDU) def. Chupa (QU): 5-7, 7-5, 6-1
#6 – Leme (FDU) def. Launie (QU): 6-2, 6-2