COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - After battling one MIAC opponent on Wednesday in St. Paul, the University of Northwestern Women's Tennis team traveled to the campus of Saint John's University to take on another Saturday morning in the College of Saint Benedict. Despite a strong showing from the top of its order, UNW ultimately came up short, losing 2-5 to the Bennies.
CSB kicked off doubles play with a 6-2 win over Northwestern's No. 3 team of
Hannah Hyttsten (Becker, Minn./Becker) and
Abby Cimenski (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids), but the Eagles refused to go down without a fight. The final two doubles matches ultimately went Saint Benedict's way, but UNW's No. 2 team (
Aby Ross (Chico, Calif./Central) and
Anne Clarke (Granite Falls, Minn./Yellow Medicine East)) extended the match before losing 5-7, and the No. 1 squad (
Rein Hayashi (Kyoto, Japan/Kansai Christian School) and
Sarah Langridge (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake)) battled to a tiebreaker before falling 6-7 (7-2).
With the doubles point secured, the Bennies rode the momentum of the thrilling matches that concluded doubles with a few quick wins in singles. At No. 6,
Macie Ruddy (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) went down in straight sets, 0-6, 0-6, and Hyttsten lost her No. 4 match, 3-6, 0-6. Ross was defeated 2-6, 4-6 to make the score 4-0 in favor of Saint Ben's and give the hosts the win, but the top of Northwestern's lineup still fought. Hayashi gutted out a 2-6, 6-2, 10-4 win at No. 1 singles, and Langridge won the No. 2 match by a 7-5, 5-7, 10-4 score. In the final match to conclude, Clarke suffered a 1-6, 0-6 loss to make the final score 2-5.
The Eagles will open up UMAC play on Tuesday, April 14th with a 2:00 match at Minnesota Morris.
