Box Score ELSAH, IL - Fresh off their exciting victory over conference foe Greenville on Tuesday, Principia Women's Tennis welcomed their other conference rival Webster for another big match on Thursday. Despite falling behind 2-1 after doubles, the Panthers swept #1-4 singles to defeat the Gorloks 5-4 and clinch the number one seed for the SLIAC Championships in three weeks.
Principia's lone doubles victory came from the #2 pairing, Kelsie Huss and Gaby Quintero. The duo plays a unique formation with both players back on the baseline. Huss' deft lobs and Quintero's crushing ground strokes are a tough combination to play against, and they won their match convincingly, 8-3. At #1 doubles, the team of Camila Gomez and Veronica Volkart dug a hole for themselves with a slow start down 4-0. They rallied to tie the match at 5 all, but Webster took the next three games to win 8-5. Caroline Carlson and Ruth Hummell had a good start to their match at #3 doubles, but were not able to close it out. Even though the Panthers were down 2-1 heading into singles, the Panthers still felt confident they could rally.
Huss, at #3 singles, was the first to win her match (6-0, 6-2) to tie the team score at 2-2. Shortly after, Volkart, at #4 singles, won her match as well (6-1, 6-1). The Panthers' 3-2 lead didn't last long as Webster evened the match 3-3 with a decisive win at #5 singles. With three matches remaining, Principia needed to win two of them to take the team victory. The Panthers took the first set at both #1 and #2 singles, but the second sets were intense battles.
Gomez fell behind 3-1 in the second set at #1 singles, but then won three straight games with steady play to regain the lead. Webster's #1 tied things up at 4-4 with both players hitting well from the baseline. Gomez's strong forehands gave her the edge in the next two games, and she closed out the match (6-0, 6-4). Ruth Hummell put up a fight at #6 singles with long rallies, but ultimately lost her match (6-4, 6-3).
Just like on Tuesday, the overall match would come down to Quintero at #2 singles. After falling behind 4-2 in the second set, she won three straight games to move ahead 5-4. Both players held serve before Quintero would break serve to clinch her match (6-1, 7-5) and give the Panthers the fifth point for the win!
Up Next: The Panthers' final home match is on Monday against Lewis and Clark at 5 PM. It will be senior day for Caroline Carlson, a four year varsity player, and Emma Hanser, a three year team member. Come out and support our match, and be sure to stay around to honor the seniors between the doubles and singles matches at about 6 PM.
FULL MATCH RESULTS:
