FRIDLEY, Minn. -- The Northwestern College women's tennis team edged Martin Luther College on Tuesday afternoon by a 5-4 score at Lifetime Fitness. The match came down to the final singles contest, where the Eagles' Leah Hogle (Grundy Center, Iowa/Grundy-Center) (Eldora, Iowa/Grundy-Center) defeated the Knights' Heidi Heckmann in the No. 6 slot.

NWC went ahead after the three doubles matches, as Dana Smith (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka) (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka) and Amy Knight (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) took care of business at No. 1 doubles against Rachel Niemi and Karina Luthra, as did Chelsey Fiecke (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) and Victoria Viggers (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) against Carol Niemi and Meredith Koltz at the No. 2 doubles spot.

Knight, playing in the No. 1 singles position for the second straight match, fell to Rachel Niemi 6-4, 6-7 (6-12), 10-2. Smith won her match at No. 2 singles, beating Carol Niemi 6-2, 6-1 while Viggers and Hogle also won their singles contests at No. 4 and No. 6 to earn the needed five points for Northwestern to win the match.

NWC improves to 5-11 overall this season while maintaining a UMAC record of 5-2 after the victory. The Eagles will head west on Thursday before taking an extended Easter weekend when they face the University of Minnesota, Morris in Morris, Minn. at 3 p.m.