The Webster University women's tennis team won its third St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, beating Principia College, 5-3, on April 18 at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. The Gorloks swept the three doubles matches, then secured the title with two singles match wins. With the title, Webster will advance to its third NCAA III Championships in team history.
The Gorloks met the Panthers in the championship match for the third time in the past three years. Webster beat Principia in 2012, but the Panthers returned the favor in 2013 by taking the crown from the Gorloks. After a tough, 5-4, win over Principia just a week ago, the sailing seemed a little easier this go round for the Gorloks, jumping to a 3-0 lead in doubles. Still, the doubles wins didn't come easy as the #1 Webster tandem of Marissa Lewis (SR, Owasso, OK/Owasso HS) and Kaylen Kress (JR, Bartlett, IL/Bartlett HS), won 9-8, as did the #3 doubles team of Stephanie Lass (FR, Lake Villa, IL/Lakes Community HS) and Chelsea Foster (SO, St. Louis, MO/McCluer North HS).
Monica Behlrle (FR, Atlanta, GA/East Paulding HS) and Jesse Steffens-Willis (FR, St. Louis, MO/Rockwood Summit HS) had a little easier time at #2 doubles, winning 8-5. But Webster lost three of the first four singles match-ups as Principia closed the gap to 4-3, with Behrle Webster's only winner at #2, 6-1, 6-1. The Gorloks clinched it when Kress, who lost her first set, 4-6, came back to win her final two, 6-4, 6-2, for Webster's fifth, and match-clinching, point.
It was Kress' eighth straight singles win. Behrle extended her singles win streak to 14 and is 20-1 overall on the year.
For the Gorloks, the turnaround in 2014-15 has been a pleasant surprise, with coach Martha Davis-Goldstein's squad rebounding from a 5-11 season in 2013-14. The return of Lewis, Kress, and Foster, combined with a talented freshman recruiting class that contributed in a big way, transformed the team into conference champions.
SLIAC league awards and All-Conference teams will be announced at a later date, but Kress was named to the 2015 SLIAC Women's Tennis All-Sportsmanship Team.
The victory was Webster's 10th in a row and is the second longest win streak ever for the program. The Gorloks improved to 14-4 and the 14 wins ties for the second most in a season in program history.
The Gorloks will now wait to see where the team lands in the NCAA III Championships. In 2010, the team wound up in Chicago, Il, and in 2012 in Greencastle, IN, where they fell in first round matches. Full results for the championship match:
Webster University 5, Principia College 3Singles competition
1. Hanne Andersen (PCWT) def. Marissa Lewis (WUWT) 6-3, 6-2
2. Monica Behrle (WUWT) def. Kelly Adams (PCWT) 6-1, 6-1
3. Kaylen Kress (WUWT) def. Caitlin Carney (PCWT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Claire Horton (PCWT) def. J. Steffens-Willis (WUWT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
5. Lena Carlson (PCWT) def. Stephanie Lass (WUWT) 6-1, 6-1
6. Nathalie Deloach (PCWT) vs. Chelsea Foster (WUWT) no result
Doubles competition
1. Marissa Lewis/Kaylen Kress (WUWT) def. Hanne Andersen/Kelly Adams (PCWT) 9-8
2. Monica Behrle/J. Steffens-Willis (WUWT) def. Caitlin Carney/Nathalie Deloach (PCWT) 8-5
3. Stephanie Lass/Chelsea Foster (WUWT) def. Lily Richards/Lena Carlson (PCWT) 9-8
