ST. PAUL – The Northwestern College women's tennis team picked up its first win of the 2013 season on Friday night, defeating Macalester 5-4. The match came down to the No. 6 singles contest, which the Eagles' Karin Smith (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) won in a winner-take-all tiebreaker.

NWC started things out right by taking two of the three doubles matches. Megan Johnson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) and Kelly Johnson (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) teamed up for an 8-5 win over Katelyn Glenna and Carmen Whitehead in No. 1 doubles, while the Eagles' No. 3 pair of Autumn Kampman (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) and Amber Gallaway (Annandale, Minn./Annandale) defeated their counterparts, Alisha Roopchand and Kayleigh Roach, 8-2.

Match Results

Megan Johnson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) then started singles play with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Paige Schaefer at the No. 1 spot before Rachel Smith (St. Cloud, Minn./Bemidji) gave Northwestern its fourth win of the night in a 6-4, 6-2 advantage against Gabby Queenan at No. 4. With the overall match score tied at 4-4, the younger Smith – Karin – lost her first set 3-6 before rallying to tie the second with a 6-4 victory. Smith then outlasted Roach 11-9 in the tiebreaker to win the match and send the Eagles home with their first victory of the year.

Friday's win was Northwestern's first over a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent since 2008. It was Eagles head coach Matt Swigart's first career victory on the women's side.

Northwestern, now 1-4, will get a few days of practice in before heading south to Hilton Head, S.C. for their annual spring break trip later next week. The Eagles' first match in a warmer climate will come on Friday, March 8 against St. Louis University.