Elsah, IL--
In the first test of their tennis skills since last season, the women's tennis team reveal much promise in their quest to repeat as SLIAC Champions. They barely lost to the women's team at Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, which earned a trip to the season ending spring 2017 NCAA tournament by winning their fall season conference championship. Freshman,
Zoe Boyman, playing #3 doubles and #6 singles had a double win today as did
Paige Cooley, #1 singles and #1 doubles. Zoe and
Hallie Jones, her partner at #3 doubles, fell behind 8-7 but tied the match at 8 and won the tie-breaker 7-4. That was the second point the Principia team earned. Paige and
Caitlin Carney, the #1 doubles team, won their match with aggressive returns and strong netplay.
At the start of the singles matches Principia led 2-1, and pulled ahead 3-1 after Paige won her singles match. Paige hit strong serves and returns and dominated play with penetrating groundstrokes. She often came to net to close out the points. Caitlin, #2 singles, fought hard but was outplayed by her more experienced opponent.
Nathalie DeLoach, #3 singles, was steady from the baseline but was not able to defend well enough against the precision groundstrokes from her opponent.
Freshman,
Brittany Duke, faced a steady and tenacious opponent who consistently returned Brittany's strong serves and powerful forehands. Brittany lost the first set in a close tie-breaker. Throughout the match she demonstrated her all court game. With the team score tied at 4-4,
Hallie Jones, playing #5 singles, displayed her competitive nature and dug deep to stay in the long rallies that highlighted the match. Hallie hits strong serves and powerful forehands and combined these with slices. She had her opponent scrambling but was not able to close out points and ended with a very close loss.
Todays match revealed what the players need to improve this season. It was one stride in the journey to the April conference championships. The players demonstrated great courage in their matches fighting off several game and match points. They are much more aware of what they need to work of for the upcoming season.
Please come out to Hexberg Tennis Center and support the team this coming Thursday, February 9, when they take on Division II Quincy College. It will be a challenging test of their tennis skills.
Results Below: Principia 4 –Rose Hulman 5
