HILTON HEAD, S.C. - After a long week of competition, Webster University played their fourth and final spring break match against Nazareth College here Friday at the Hilton Head Golf and Tennis Club. The Gorloks finished their trip strong with a 5-4 win over the Flying Eagles.
With the win, Webster improves to 4-3 on the season and they snapped Nazareth's 14 match winning streak the Flying Eagles fell to 14-1 on the year.
Friday's match began with singles play as the Gorloks scored 4 points with wins at No. 1, 3, 4, and 5 to take a 4-2 lead in the match.
Both junior Madison Watts (Rogersville, Mo./Logan Rogersville) at No. 2 and freshman Adri Ventimiglia (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette Catholic) at No. 6 had matches that went to a third set tiebreaker, before they ultimately lost.
At the No. 1 spot, senior Monica Behrle (Atlanta, Ga./East Paulding) had another dominating performance with a 6-1, 6-1 victory, while at the No. 5 spot, freshman Maggie Federhofer (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) was also spectacular with her 6-0, 6-1 win.
"[Federhofer] had a smooth win at No. 5," Webster head coach Martha Davis-Goldstein commented following the win. "It was good to see her play with confidence."
Senior Jesse Steffens-Willis (St. Louis, Mo./Rockwood Summit) at No. 3 and junior Sara Rice (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet Seymour) at No. 4 had tougher matches. Both of their opponents hit strong winners, but the Gorloks refused to be intimidated as they won their matches 6-1, 6-4 and 6-3, 6-4, respectively.
"Rice never let up and kept her focus," Davis-Goldstein added. "I was very proud of her mental focus and ability to close the match."
Leading 4-2, the two teams headed into doubles. Steffens-Willis and Rice had already secured wins in singles but was unable to come up with a third in their No. 2 doubles match as they fell, 8-0.
"[Rice] and I played really solid in singles," Steffens-Willis said. "We didn't do as well in doubles, but I was glad we got those singles victories."
Federhofer and Ventimiglia had a strong showing at No. 3 doubles as they played a close back-and-forth match before falling, 9-7. That win by Nazareth's No. 3 doubles team evened the match at 4.
The final point came down to the No. 1 team as Behrle and Watts continued their winning streak with an 8-1 victory. They have now won six matches in a row as a pair this season.
"I had good synergy with [Watts] today," said Behrle. "[Nazareth] had a solid lineup. We had a couple of close matches, but we really came back strong."
Webster will now return to St. Louis and return to the courts for a home match on Tuesday, March 20 against Kaskaskia College. The match will begin at 6 p.m. at the Webster Groves Tennis Center.
