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ROCHESTER, Mich. (4/18/2015) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's tennis team used a dominating performance in singles to claw past the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 5-2, on Saturday in a Metro Series match-up at the Oakland Outdoor Tennis Courts.

The victory was the 15th of the year for the Titans (15-8, 7-1 HL), tying their school record with the 2008-09 team. The seven conference wins also established a new program record for HL victories as the red, white and blue did all it could to put itself in a position to win a regular season title.

UDM could win the regular season championship outright with two losses by Youngstown State and a UIC loss at Cleveland State this weekend. Detroit could share the regular season title with YSU if the Penguins drop one match this week and there could also be a three-way tie for first with YSU and UIC depending on the outcomes of their matches. There are also scenarios out there that could have the Titans share a regular season championship and finish as a No. 3 seed depending on the outcome of tiebreakers, all of which may not be known until Sunday evening.

Detroit started slow due to some windy conditions and Oakland (4-15, 3-5 HL) using the energy of its hometown fans to take two of the three matches in doubles for the early lead.

In singles, the Titans caught fire winning the first set in five of the matches en route to four straight-set victories.

One of the nailbiters in singles came at No. 3 as sophomore Anna Davydova's winning streak nearly came to an end, but she was able to regroup and tally her 12th-straight win with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, decision over Tamara Blum. The 25th win of the season is now just one away from tying the school record.

Sophomore Viktoria Laskutova cruised past Theresa Elder, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 5 and freshman Sasha Nionova moved to 6-2 on the year in the Horizon League's top spot as she defeated Cam Sabourin, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Junior Valeryia Kulikovskaya dispatched Karine Celis, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 2 and the clinching fourth point came from sophomore Nynke Van Der Goot as she downed Juliana Guevara, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in a hotly contest bout at No. 6.

The win moved the battle for the Metro Rivalry Cup to 18-10 in favor of Oakland. The Titans are still alive for the Metro Rivalry Cup with men's and women's golf and men's and women's outdoor track and field still left on the docket before tiebreakers would settle the matter. The school's branded the annual rivalry early last fall called the Metro Series, driven by Trinity Transportation, which will be awarded to the school with the most head-to-head victories over the course of the academic year. 

Next up for the Titans will be the Horizon League Championship, which will take place next weekend, April 24-26, at the Schwartz Tennis Center on the campus of Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana. The full field will be released Sunday night.