ORLANDO, Fla. - After a few days of relaxation in the Sunshine State, the University of Northwestern Women's Tennis team was eager to take the court for some healthy competition on Monday. Rising before the sun was up, the Eagles started play at 8 AM, facing off against the Connecticut College Camels at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, before closing out day one of competition down the road in Kissimmee against the Salve Regina University Seahawks.
Match One: Connecticut College Camels
The Eagles knew their first opponent would be a tough one, and ultimately, they were proven right. The morning started with three thrilling doubles matches, all filled with competitive play. Finishing first was the duo at one doubles of
Annie Orvis (Rochester, Minn/Schaeffer Academy) and
Abby Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool). After keeping their opponents at bay for as long as possible, the pair fell short by a score of 4-8. Following shortly after,
Abigail Ross (Chico, Calif./Central) and
Madeline Troolin (Cambridge, Minn./Homeschool) also fell to their opponents at three doubles, 4-8. Only one court over, however, the Eagles were gaining some exciting momentum. The match at two doubles with
Analise Marquardt (Parkers Prairie, Minn./Parkers Prairie) and
Elise Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) went back and forth the entire match until they were able to seal the deal, coming back from Love-40 at 7-6 to ultimately win the match, 8-6.
Singles play proved a tall task for the Eagles.
Analise Marquardt (Parkers Prairie, Minn./Parkers Prairie), playing four singles, lost 0-6, 0-6,
Annie Orvis (Rochester, Minn/Schaeffer Academy) lost 3-6, 1-6 at one singles, and
Abby Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) lost 1-6, 3-6 at two singles. The Eagles were able to last a bit longer on the court in the remaining positions, but still were not quite able to get over the large hump of the Connecticut Camels.
Abigail Ross (Chico, Calif./Central) lost 3-6, 1-6 at five singles,
Elise Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) lost 1-6, 4-6 at three singles, and
Rayna Baumgarn (Holmen, Wis./Holmen) lost 2-6, 4-6 at six singles.
Match Two: Salve Regina University Seahawks
Monday afternoon brought about a battle of the birds as the Eagles took on the Salve Regina Seahawks from the state of Rhode Island. After losing 1-8 in the morning, the Eagles were hungry for a win in the afternoon.
Starting hot in doubles, Analise Marquart and
Elise Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne), still riding high from the impressive win earlier in the day, secured a solid win of 8-4 at two doubles. Quickly following them,
Abigail Ross (Chico, Calif./Central) and
Madeline Troolin (Cambridge, Minn./Homeschool) had a similar fight at three doubles and prevailed, 8-5. After these two, eyes turned to the match occurring just one court over.
Annie Orvis (Rochester, Minn/Schaeffer Academy) and
Abby Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) were locked in a battle of their own, playing a game of teeter totter with their opponents. Orvis and Johnson saved a match point on deuce at 6-7, and dug to a deeper level as they won the tie breaker, 7-3.
With the sun still high in the sky, the long road to a 9-0 win started.
Elise Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) earned the fourth point for the Eagles, winning a commanding match at three singles, 6-0, 6-0. Clinching the match for the Eagles was
Rayna Baumgarn (Holmen, Wis./Holmen) at six singles, winning 6-3, 6-3.
Abigail Ross (Chico, Calif./Central) faced a difficult first set but was undeterred as she dominated the second set and won 7-5, 6-0 at five singles. Following her was Abigail Johnson at two singles. Johnson, having already faced one tiebreaker in doubles had yet another great feat in store. Winning the first set 6-4 and losing the second set 0-6 led to an intense, third set tiebreaker. Johnson was able to pull out the win in a nail biting 11-9 victory. In store for
Annie Orvis (Rochester, Minn/Schaeffer Academy) was another tiebreaker. In a similar story to Johnson, Orvis won the first set 6-1, lost the second set 4-6, and went into the tiebreaker with a new energy. She finally finished off her opponent, 10-2. Last off the court for the Eagles was
Analise Marquardt (Parkers Prairie, Minn./Parkers Prairie). Her match did not go to a third set tiebreak, but it certainly came down to the wire. Winning the first set in a tiebreak 7-6 (7-3), Marquardt was down 2-5 in the second set, but found the energy that led to a 7-5 final in the second set.
The Eagles are excited to continue their spring break competition tomorrow versus Juniata College at 6:00 PM ET (5:00 PM CT) at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
