WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. - The University of Northwestern Women's Tennis team resumed its season Saturday after over a week off since its Florida finale. The Eagles jumped right back into the fray, playing a pair of matches at two different locations. UNW took on Wartburg College in Rogers in the morning before relocating to White Bear Lake for an evening, non-conference matchup with Martin Luther College. Competing against Knights in both matches, Northwestern lost 1-6 to Wartburg before rallying for a 7-0 sweep of Martin Luther.
Match One: Wartburg College Knights
The morning match was one of the tougher the Eagles will play this season, as Wartburg came in with a 16-7 record. The Knights set the tone early by sweeping the doubles matches to go up 1-0.
Hannah Hyttsten (Becker, Minn./Becker) and
Abby Cimenski (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) lost 0-6 at No. 3 doubles,
Aby Ross (Chico, Calif./Central) and
Anne Clarke (Granite Falls, Minn./Yellow Medicine East) fell 1-6 at No. 2, and
Rein Hayashi (Kyoto, Japan/Kansai Christian School) and
Sarah Langridge (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) suffered a 2-6 defeat in the No. 1 match.
Singles matches belonged to Wartburg early on as well, as Hyttsten lost 1-6, 2-6 at No. 4 and Clarke fell 2-6, 2-6 in the No. 6 match. At No. 1, Hayashi suffered a 4-6, 1-6 defeat, while Ross went down, 3-6, 4-6 in the No. 3 slot. Despite the win already in-hand for the Knights, the remaining two matches went down to the wire in thrilling fashion. At No. 5 singles, Cimenski battled back from a 1-6 loss in set one to force a tiebreak after a 6-2, second-set win. She wasn't able to ride the momentum to a win, losing the tiebreak 5-10. In the No. 2 match, Langridge also went to a tiebreak after a 4-6, 7-5 start. The freshman was able to win the back-and-forth war, 10-8, to get her team a point.
Match Two: Martin Luther College Knights
In the
Knight-cap (holds for applause), UNW took on Martin Luther in a non-conference match. Northwestern had much more success in the evening, taking all three doubles matches to kick things off. Ross and Clarke won 6-1 at No. 2 doubles, and Hyttsten and
Macie Ruddy (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) won 6-2 at No. 3. In the No. 3 match, Hayashi and Langridge had to work a little harder, but emerged with a 6-4 win.
Singles matches went smoothly for the Eagles as well, beginning with a 6-1, 6-0 win for Clarke, moving up to No. 5 singles. Ross followed with a 6-3, 6-1 win in the No. 2 match, while Cimenski rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 to clinch the team win. At No. 3 singles, Hyttsten went to a tiebreak after winning the first set, 6-2, and losing the second, 2-6. The sophomore hit a passing shot winner on match point to seal a 13-11 win. Ruddy, playing at No. 6 with Hayashi getting the night off from singles, also went to a tiebreak, winning a thriller, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 10-8. Rounding out the sweep was Langridge, who moved up to the No. 1 spot and took care of business, 6-3, 6-4.
Up Next
Northwestern will play its final indoor matches of the season (hopefully) next Saturday, March 28th, in Owatonna as part of ITA College Tennis Weekend. The Eagles will face Ripon at 10:30 AM and Buena Vista at 5:30 PM.
