WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. – Coming back to Minnesota after playing in Wisconsin for its first two weeks of the season, the University of Northwestern Women's Tennis team went to White Bear Lake Saturday to try for its first win of the season, taking on St. Mary's University. With team captain Aby Ross (Chico, Calif./Central) back in the lineup, the Eagles looked to rally with her, but fell 1-6.

The freshmen No. 1 doubles duo of Sarah Langridge (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) and Rein Hayashi (Kyoto, Japan/Kansai Christian School) gave the Eagles a promising start to doubles, winning their match 6-2. Back in the lineup, Ross joined Anne Clarke (Granite Falls, Minn./Yellow Medicine East) at No. 2 doubles and did not let down expectations, dominating their match and winning 6-1, securing Clarke's first win with the Eagles, as well as the doubles point. The No. 3 doubles team of Abby Cimenski (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) and Hannah Hyttsten (Becker, Minn./Becker) battled in their match, getting to a tiebreaker at 6-6. They got out to a 5-2 lead after a couple long rallies, but they couldn't finish the job soon enough and lost 5-7. 

With the doubles point in the Eagles' hands, the women looked to battle on in singles. Langridge quickly got in a tiebreaker in the first set of the No. 2 match, but couldn't capitalize and lost the first set. She rallied back in the second set after being down 0-3, though she would wind up losing her match 6-7 (3-7), 5-7. Moving to the No. 1 singles spot, Hayashi, the two-time UMAC Athlete of the Week in her first two weeks, fought and fell short in her first set, but struck back in the second set to force a 10-point tiebreaker. Despite a few good points to start off, Hayashi would lose her match 4-6, 6-4, 3-10. Ross found herself back in the No. 3 singles spot after a brief hiatus and was looking forward to getting herself in the swing of things. Ross battled with St. Mary's firepower before losing 4-6, 4-6. Clarke (No. 4) took a 3-6, 0-6 loss, and Cimenski (No. 6) fell soon after, losing 1-6, 1-6. The lone match to finish was Hyttsten's at No. 5 singles. She fought hard to keep her match alive, but fell short with a 4-6, 5-7 loss.

Northwestern gets its next chance for a win on Saturday, February 21st where it will face St. Scholastica and in Owatonna, Minnesota.