The Webster University women's tennis team split a pair of matches in Naperville, Illinois, beating North Central College, 5-4, and losing to Wheaton College, 8-1, on April 8. The Loks started their day against North Central, avenging an 8-1 loss to the Cardinals last year, rallying to come away with a victory at 5-4.
Against North Central, in doubles the Gorloks struggled at #1 and #2. The #2 doubles started strong, but the Cardinals rallied back. The only doubles victory came at #3, who took care of business and won 8-2.
"We've been playing extremely well together," said #3 doubles player Stephanie Lass (JR., Lake Villa, IL. "I'll be sad when we have our last match together this year, because I think we're only going to keep getting better."
Down 2-1 going into singles, the Gorloks needed to win four of the six singles lines. They did just that. The Loks took wins at #1, #4, #5, and #6 singles. Monica Behrle (JR., Atlanta, GA) at #1 won in a third-set tiebreaker against the player she lost to last year. At #4, Jesse Steffens-Willis (JR., St. Louis, MO) also played a fantastic match, one of her best all year.
"I stayed consistent and closed out shots," Steffens-Willis said. "I tried not to let pressure get to me."
The pressure didn't get to Steffens-Willis at all, and she won 6-3, 6-2. Chelsea Foster (SR., St. Louis, MO) next won at #5, and so it was up to Lass to close out. She won easily, going 6-0, 6-0.
With a victory under their belt, the Gorloks switched sites to play the Wheaton College Thunder. They were hoping to carry their momentum into this match, but they were overwhelmed by the Thunder's pace. At #3 doubles, Lass and Foster's nine-match winning streak together ended. The Loks were down 0-3 after doubles, and #2 through #6 singles could only snag a game here and there.
But at #1, Behrle played an amazing match against her ranked opponent. She already had come off a tough match that morning, and she carried that energy into this match to win in straight sets. Her win at #1 was the only Loks victory against Wheaton.
"I felt that in this match, it was really important for me what kind of game she had, and I needed to figure out how to break it down," said Behrle. "So once I did that, I decided to just change up how I hit the ball each shot."
After going 1-1 on the day, the Gorloks' record moves to 8-7. Their next match is against conference opponent Blackburn College on Sunday, April 9, at 1:00 p.m. at Blackburn. Go Loks!
Webster University 5 North Central 4
Doubles
1. Forkin, Kelsey/O'Connor, Clare (NCC) def. Behrle, Monica/Watts, Madison (WU) 8-1
2. Coladipietro, Marisa/Drone, Katie (NCC) def. Rice, Sara/Steffens-Willis, Jesse (WU) 8-4
3. Foster, Chelsea/Lass, Stephanie (WU) def. Adams, Emily/Dvorak, Lauren (NCC) 8-2
Singles
1. Behrle, Monica (WU) def. Drone, Katie (NCC) 3-6, 6-1, 1-0(7)
2. O'Connor, Clare (NCC) def. Watts, Madison (WU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Forkin, Kelsey (NCC) def. Rice, Sara (WU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Steffens-Willis, Jesse (WU) def. Coladipietro, Marisa (NCC) 6-3, 6-2
5. Foster, Chelsea (WU) def. Adams, Emily (NCC) 6-2, 6-1
6. Lass, Stephanie (WU) def. Dvorak, Lauren (NCC) 6-0, 6-0
Wheaton College 8 Webster University 1
Doubles
1. Jones, Emily/Park, Katie (WC) def. Behrle, Monica/Watts, Madison (WU) 8-3
2. Kay, Miranda/Magnuson, Sara (WC) def. Rice, Sara/Steffens-Willis, Jesse (WU) 8-1
3. Barrett, Anna-Katherine/Browning, Claire (WC) def. Foster, Chelsea/Lass, Stephanie (WU) 8-0
Singles
1. Behrle, Monica (WU) def. Park, Katie (WC) 6-4, 6-4
2. Jones, Emily (WC) def. Watts, Madison (WU) 6-1, 6-2
3. White, Kirstie (WC) def. Rice, Sara (WU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Kay, Miranda (WC) def. Steffens-Willis, Jesse (WU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Magnuson, Sara (WC) def. Foster, Chelsea (WU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Barrett, Anna-Katherine (WC) def. Struckman, Jordan 6-0, 6-0
